


Blood Bond

by Vinvalen



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-06
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2017-12-10 14:38:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 31,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/787164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinvalen/pseuds/Vinvalen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For Reno, it was a simple enough assignment- but then surveillance becomes obsession, leading to secrets of a buried past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

 

From his vantage point above the street, Reno had a perfect view of the alleyway behind 7th Heaven, which suited him just fine.

The view also allowed him to see into a certain window on the second floor, though the room was dark at present. It wouldn't be for long, he knew, settling himself further into the deep shadows of his hiding place. Fenrir's engine ticked as it cooled; the only other sound in the quiet darkness. The bar itself had shut down an hour before, its few remaining patrons drifting their way home along the empty street.

Reno knew because he had been drinking the evening away at the end of the bar, wondering if a certain person would make an appearance before closing time. But when he heard the distinctive sound of Strife's behemoth machine enter the alley, he drank up, slapped gil down on the bar as payment and departed through the front entrance just as the back door banged shut. The Turk wasn't officially on duty, but had worn his uniform anyway. People tended to avoid him when he dressed in such a manner, which served his purpose exactly. The bag he'd stashed on the roof he now occupied held a dark shirt he'd swiftly changed into before settling to watch; the white of his uniform would have stood out like a beacon.

If anyone had asked him why he was behaving in a manner which could only be described as stalking, he could deny doing so for any other reason than official Shinra business. Cloud Strife was after all, still considered a 'person of interest' as far as his superiors were concerned. As for Reno himself, he'd often asked himself the very same question. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit his interest stemmed from a day in Wutai where he had looked at the blond and had somehow truly seen him for the first time. It had just felt right, somehow, to let him go his way, although Rude had given him one of 'those' looks and Elena had been livid. From there, it seemed as if their paths had begun to purposely cross.

His mind was brought back to the present when the last light downstairs went out, so it would only be a matter of moments before the one he was watching for came on in its stead and Strife began preparing for bed…a sight which had fuelled Reno's imagination for longer than he'd like to admit. The reality was even better...

Immediately wary, Reno slitted his eyes nearly closed. Turks were also mako-enhanced, though not to the same degree as SOLDIER. In his own case, his slender frame would never sport that dense muscular structure, but his hearing and eyesight were definitely superior as compared to an unenhanced person, and he was fast. If Strife happened to glance his way, there was no way he could miss seeing Reno's eyes, though the rest of him was concealed behind the usual mishmash of chimneys and maintenance structure that cluttered any rooftop.  
His escape route in case of detection was well planned; Reno would be long gone before pursuit reached him.

Therefore he gave a startled yelp when a hand came down upon his shoulder from behind, clamping with enough pressure to ensure he remained upon his knees.

Flicking on the bedroom light, Cloud sat on the edge of the bed and flopped down. No one ever got to see him actually relax like that. But it wasn't about to last. Something felt wrong. The upstairs was too quiet. The children were with Barret and Tifa... hadn't come up the stairs yet. In fact as he listened, he didn't hear any sign of her. Sitting upright slowly he looked at his closed door, waiting for the familiar stomp of her boots.

Tifa hissed softly as she saw what the Turk had been planning. Why would Rufus send his Turks to watch Cloud's room? Hadn't her friend already told them 'no' half a dozen times by now? Tifa grabbed the Turk harder and pulled him behind one of the chimneys, out of sight of Cloud's window just before the blond happened to look out of it.

"What's the meaning of this?" She wasn't enhanced; she could barely see the Turk now that they were inside a dark shadow. A shadow was all it had taken to get the girl to follow the Turk, suspicion heavy on her mind because of some deep seated instinct and fear.

Reno had yelped before he could stop himself, and immediately winced; there was no way in the hells Cloud could have missed hearing him squawk. "Shit, lady! You scared the living fuck outta me!"  
Wonderful, he thought. The only person on the entire planet more embarrassing to have caught him other than Cloud himself.

"It ain't like that," he sputtered, thinking fast. A little white lie would be better than having her think Shinra was breathing down Strife's neck again, or worse yet, her suspecting he was playing peeping tom- which technically, he was. "Could ya let go? I'll need that arm again!" Whoever had taught her pressure points had been damned good, as the arm in question was already completely numb from his shoulder down. "I'm just makin' sure  
he's alright!"

Tifa perked a brow at that and released the Turk's arm, believing he wouldn't run at this point. "Lower your voice," she shushed, knowing Cloud's honed senses and edgy instincts would have him out here in no time flat if the Turk kept making noise like that. "Why wouldn't he be alright?"

Cloud had heard the cry of panic alright and was at the window, lifting it open and glaring out across at the seemingly empty roof on the other side of the dead street. This time of night there was no telling who or what had made that sound but it was out of the ordinary these days.

Reno shushed. "Somebody like him, when every last one of Shinra's competition knows Rufus wants him? Hells..." What he'd told her was no lie; those who saw Strife as a 'free agent' would be quick to approach, knowing of his longstanding enmity with the corporation. It wouldn't matter if there was no chance of gaining his interest. Should worse come to worst, a bullet in the dark a long way from home was still a bullet. Considering what had happened to Zack Fair, who was almost on his own doorstep when caught, she should understand Reno's concerns. What she didn't understand of his real reasons for being on the roof wouldn't hurt him; or at least not yet.

"Guarding your investment," Tifa scoffed and then fumed. Fuck that blond bastard sitting up in his office... would he ever give up on owning a piece of Cloud? But what Reno had said made sense, and who else COULD protect her friend if he ever needed it? She relaxed, then narrowed her shoulders. "If you get caught... I'm not sure I can stand between you and him. You know better than I do how Cloud will react if he sees you."

Cloud had been straining his eyes and ears but all he could hear was the occasional mongrel on the street. Whatever had cried out must have been surprised by a shadow. Closing the window slower than he had slammed it open, he sighed. Would he ever learn how to relax, truly relax? His past seemed determined to never stop haunting him.

 

"Hey, I ain't holdin' it against ya, yo. What matters is that he's okay, right?" Reno realized by Lockhart's tone that she would hold him personally responsible if anything happened now. Talk about being in between a rock and a hard place… Enough of the Turk's attention remained on his original target that he'd caught the movement of Strife lowering the window, causing him to let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Reno looked back up at her, his expression entirely devoid of its usual cockiness. "Believe me, lady… I wouldn't want ya in the middle of me and him." What she chose to make of that was up to her, but he felt he'd given away enough for one night.

Confused by his last statement, Tifa regarded Reno for a quiet moment. "Just don't get caught," she warned after a long pause and turned to leave. She made her way quietly off the roof and headed in a longer way around, knowing Cloud would still be on edge and hear her on the street if she crossed right in front of the bar.

Cloud watched out the window, staring at the street below until he heard Tifa on the stairs. Whatever had kept her, she had been gone awhile. He wondered at her disappearance until he had to admit to himself that she was an adult. If she was seeing someone, she would want her privacy for a while. Turning from the window he was finally  
able to let his guard down. He shed his shirt and stretched his arms and back to get the kinks out of the muscles.

Reno watched her depart, unwilling to let his guard down again where she was concerned until certain she was actually gone.

What the fuck had he been thinking, letting that last statement slip? Oh well. Too late now. He rubbed his aching shoulder, swearing under his breath as feeling returned to his arm, making itself known in a thousand pinpricks. He settled back against the chimney and heaved a deep sigh before looking back to the window, determined to salvage something from this disastrous evening.

Reno was soon rewarded by the sight of Cloud (he allowed himself to taste the name) skinning quickly out of his shirt, muscles of his long back rippling with the movement. When he started stretching, though...the Turk had to stifle a groan. Why did he continue to torture himself, watching the sensual show? When did watching Strife go from being a standard assignment to an obsession?

He'd spoken more truth to Lockhart than he'd ever been willing to admit before, even to himself. So what if truth might jump up and bite him? Reno didn't want to share this sight with anyone. Fuck...he didn't want to share Cloud with anyone, he realized, his gaze glued to the sight within the dimly lit room. 'C'mon, Cloud...show me some more, he thought.

Cloud had more reason to stretch than tense muscles, but he wasn't yet about to feel that. The past few days he had felt strange in general, and sleep hadn't been easy to come.

Stripping his pants off, he wore dark boxers underneath. Flicking the light off, his eyes quickly adjusted to the dark; glowing brightly as he pulled back the sheets on his bed. The night was warm enough and his heart still pumping faster than it should be from the earlier fright that he didn't have to pull the sheets up over his body for warmth. Head on the pillow he stared up at the ceiling, feeling restless and tired and knowing it would get worse as these sleepless nights wore on. Still, he closed his eyes and willed himself to rest.

As soon as he began to drift and had turned on his side into a more comfortable position, those restless thoughts and the anxiety from earlier were starting to find their own release. Not yet awakened, he stirred in discomfort as his roiling emotions became arousal.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors: Collaboration fic between Grygon and Vinvalen  
Pairings: Reno/Cloud…(and others, eventually)

For Reno, it was a simple enough assignment, but then surveillance becomes obsession, leading to secrets of a buried past.

 

Blood Bond Chapter 2

 

When Cloud stripped down to his boxers, Reno was glad he'd taken the risk of  
staying. Just _this_ much was well worth missing sleep over, but when the interior lights of Cloud’s room went down and the only illumination left was what came from the streetlight, he almost gave up for the night until his vision adjusted and he realized the blond was not yet asleep, but rather had turned to where he was facing the window. 

If mako had ever been his friend, it was now. No distortion of night vision goggles stood between him and the softly illuminated figure in the bed. Almost subconsciously, he shifted into a more comfortable position. With one last, furtive glance around to make sure he was still alone, Reno unzipped his pants and reached in to deal with the results of Cloud's strip show. He only wished the blond's boxers had been with the heap of clothes he'd tossed carelessly to the floor. 

Even as he began to slowly stroke, part of his mind dwelled upon Cloud's obvious nervousness. Reno had never seen him in anything less than complete control of himself, as far as he knew. What could have the blond in such a state?  
Forgetting to be careful of the dim mako glow of his eyes, Reno stared.

Half asleep and half awake, Cloud restlessly turned over onto his back, his hand going to his crotch and rubbing. The jolt of lust from touching his growing erection brought him full awake again. He groaned softly and squeezed himself through his boxers, gently pulling on himself for a few moments as his lust caught up with his erection. His other hand touched himself as well, rubbing his chest and nipples.

Slipping his hand into his boxers he began to rub and stroke himself, slow and leisurely. Arching his back, his face relaxed into bliss with soft gasping moans as he teased himself with sensual touches for a few minutes.

Reno couldn't believe his luck in what he was seeing, but wasn't about to make any sound that would draw Cloud's attention. His own hand slipped into the same rhythm as the blond's and he had to bite down on his lip to suppress the moan that wanted desperately to escape. His other hand mirrored the path across his own chest and nipples that he saw before him, and he couldn't help but wish it was Cloud's skin he touched, or that those sword-calloused hands were touching his own body so intimately.

The chill of the night became unbearably hot to him and he shuddered as he willingly lost himself to the spell being woven by both his own hands and those of the man he watched. Pleasuring himself had never been so intense before, not even with the fantasy of the blond to fuel them. Gods, he was losing his mind; he had to be. Perhaps it was the lure of knowing he stood no chance with the object of his desire, or merely the thought of him as forbidden fruit. Either way, Reno was lost. He wanted to taste the path those hands followed, to know the scent of the other's skin. "Cloud..." he murmured.

Cloud couldn't remember the last time he had indulged himself in anything sexual, but it explained the pent-up feelings of anxiety and the sleepless nights. He needed to get laid. As amazing as this felt right now he craved something more- someone to fill him. Thing was, he didn't exactly trust anyone to do that for him.

Pushing the elastic band of his boxers down under his balls he cupped and rolled them with his other hand while squeezing his cock. He might have heard Reno, had his blood not been pounding in his temples. Rubbing his thumb over his nipples once more, he began to stroke himself a little faster. Oh gods... stopping suddenly, he reached to his nightstand, fumbling for something, anything... a pen. Gripping the pen between his teeth he resumed jerking off, using his bite on it to muffle his moans and cries.

Reno passed the point where he could not stand anymore, consequences be  
damned. _Everybody should go a little crazy now and then,_ he thought; because what he was about to do could only be defined as completely insane. Cursing the pain of both the sudden interruption and his current condition, Reno wrestled his pants back into place and stumbled for his escape route from the roof. 

In moments he was on the street, in another few he was using his enhanced strength to climb the rough brick below Cloud's window. _Fucking psychotic,_ he told himself again, but if Cloud killed him, he'd have a lot of  
explaining to do about why there was a dead Turk in his room (if Reno made  
it that far) and more interestingly, why were his pants undone? This last thought almost made Reno snicker, but the truth was, this was no laughing matter. _I'm dead if I'm wrong,_ he thought, _and fuck if this hasn't gone on long enough!_ He could probably have finished on that roof and gone quietly on his way, but something within himself that acknowledged how long he'd wanted Cloud took over. Reno reached for the windowsill.

Interrupted by the scrambling sound outside, Cloud's reflexes took control and pulled his boxers up and had him at the window and opening it as the Turk came into view. Shocked by the sudden appearance of the other in such a strange way, Cloud backpedaled, grabbing at his erection to hide it with one hand and raising the other to fight. But his fight instinct wasn't exactly resolved. At the sight of the man, even a Turk, he didn't want to fight him. Gods, he wanted to jump his bones. His fighting stance showed his confusion as well as he stared at Reno.

Reno barely avoided falling, knowing he'd make enough noise to wake the entire house if he did. The last thing he needed was to have Tifa breaking the door down. Twisting like a cat, he shoved the window further open and managed to tumble through with a quick and relatively quiet tuck and roll, landing on the floor and coming to rest at Cloud's feet. Only then did he notice the blond's unusual stance. _Well_ , he thought. _I ain't dead yet._

He lay there only an instant before bounding to his feet, knowing he had to move quickly before the other man came to his senses and grabbed a weapon. With Reno's luck, it would be his sword and there'd still be hells to pay. So he did the  
next best thing. He grabbed Cloud around the waist and pulled him roughly to his chest. He'd been right. Close up, the blond's scent was every bit as intoxicating as Reno had known it would be. He wanted his hands everywhere, but for the moment, he contented himself with using his free hand to grip Cloud's jaw and tilt his face just enough to claim the blond's mouth in a bruising kiss.

Grunting, Cloud struggled at first; though not enough to break free. _Gods, he didn't want to break free._ His need to be fucked was currently overriding any anger or fear he should have been feeling. He could feel Reno's own erection pressing against him through the suit the Turk wore.

Giving in to the kiss, he stopped struggling and opened up, inviting Reno inside his mouth with a groan. When they parted for air, he gasped. "Push me on my knees. Do me now," he panted, breathless and wanton. He should be tossing the man out the window and handing his ass to him, not begging him for a fuck.

"I sure hope ya don't change your mind," Reno panted as he struggled with his clothes, "cause I don't think I could stop now unless ya gelded me." Cloud's surrender was more than Reno had dared hope for, and yet here the other man was, the same as begging him. Hells, it should have been _him_ begging the _blond._ He knew he was the same as destroying his suit when he heard buttons flying and the sound of ripping cloth. Fuck it. Turk suits were always eventually claimed by irreparable damage. What was one more?

Free of his shirt, he grabbed for Cloud again, crushing the other's body close, running his hands everywhere, practically biting a trail of open-mouth kisses from Cloud's jawline to his shoulder. Hells, he wanted to crawl inside the blond and stay there, be burned in the heat of him. Fingers found and twisted nipples almost cruelly before Reno dipped his head and soothed those hurts with his tongue. And all the while, those roughened hands he'd dreamed of were all over him, grabbing and clawing before latching onto Reno's hips and almost grinding their erections together. And then Cloud's talented mouth claimed his tongue, sucking on it until Reno felt it all the way to his balls.

"I should rip your balls off for this," Cloud panted as he broke for a breath. Pushing Reno back a space, he grabbed the man's barely closed pants and finished undressing him. Kicking his own boxers off, Cloud wanted the other inside him. _Now._ Turning, he pressed his ass to Reno's hips and grinded up against him. "Nnm," he moaned, reaching up to cup Reno's cheek and turn his head for another searing kiss. "Have lube?"

"Wait'll we're done and I might let ya," Reno gasped in reply when they broke again for air. "But what a fuckin' way to go."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Collaboration fic between Grygon and Myself.  
> Surveillance becomes obsession, leading to secrets of a buried past.

What Cloud had asked him finally sank into Reno’s overwhelmed senses as Cloud finished stripping himself and turned.

"Pants pocket," Reno ground out, hissing as his throbbing cock made contact with Cloud's heated skin. He didn't give himself time to think of how mindbending it was to have the blond willing to bottom for him; for Cloud to be wanting the cock of his avowed enemy. In this moment, there was no past, no Avalanche, no Shinra, no Turks. There was only Cloud and Reno, a darkened room above a bar, and an insistent hand shoving lube into his grasp. 

Reno fumbled with it, squeezing a glob onto his fingers before dropping the thing, uncaring of where it landed. An instant later, those same fingers were probing, slipping inside that incredible heat. Two at once, and faster than Reno would have cared to go, but Cloud's only response to his rough treatment was a hiss of discomfort before pushing back against them. A third finger soon joined the first two and Reno curled them down, searching.

_Fuck the Turk for not wearing a tie!_ Cloud instead bit into his own hand to muffle the moan that nearly gave them away as Reno found his sweet spot and tortured him by rubbing and teasing it. Ooh, gods...what the hell was he doing? He knew this was wrong, but damned if he cared, he wanted to be fucked so bad and somehow Reno had known and came crashing back into his life at the exact right moment to do just that. Cloud groaned and grabbed Reno's other hand, taking the few steps back to the bed.

Putting his hands on the bed, Cloud spread his legs for Reno and looked over his shoulder, his face and neck by now flush with desire.

When those amazing blue eyes met his own, Reno almost lost it. He couldn't define what he saw there, but he knew that look. He'd seen it in the mirror too many times when all he had was his own hand for company and a gaping hole inside himself where everything that was wrong in his life came to torment him in the late hours of the night. 

The hand he'd been using to stretch Cloud slowed; became determined to make this good for him, good for them both. Reno well knew this could be the only chance he'd ever get with this beautiful, dangerous man and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to do right by them both. When a whimper of protest escaped Cloud's kiss-bruised lips, Reno was quick to reassure him, sliding his hand along that arched spine in a slow, gentle caress even as he slicked himself with the other. He leaned closer to speak directly in the blond's ear, Cloud’s soft spikes brushing his nose and lips.

"Easy, baby...we got all night and I ain't goin' nowhere. Let's just slow down and enjoy the ride..." With that, he arched himself over Cloud's back and rather than driving deep in one push as he'd planned, Reno entered the blond in a smooth, slow glide.

It was incredible; everything he'd fantasized all rolled together wouldn't even come close to the reality as Reno forced himself to remain still within heat that felt as if it would consume him completely. When he'd caught his breath, what was left of his thought processes came back online long enough to present one glaring fact. _Baby._ It was a word Reno _never_ used, not for anyone…but he'd just broken his own promise to himself and the word had slipped out before he could even think of calling it back. 

_Fuck..._ he'd think about it later. Reaching down, Reno closed one hand around Cloud's erection and gave it a long, slow stroke, even as he eased himself into a rhythm, equally slow, brushing over the blond's sweet spot with just enough pressure to keep them both on the edge. Languid kisses followed the line of Cloud's shoulder, Reno's free hand teasing with light caresses across the blond's chest, barely brushing his nipples before traveling on to map his skin and finally coming to rest against Cloud's hip. 

A nibble followed the line of the blond's ear before Reno buried his face in those soft, sweet-smelling spikes and released a deep, shuddering sigh. _Yeah,_ Reno thought. _Definitely losing my mind._ But even with the knowledge of who he held and where he was, Reno couldn't bring himself to care about what anyone else would think. Now was all that mattered.

_Baby?_ There was a moment of confusion and a sarcastic reply on the tip of Cloud’s tongue before Reno was inside him and all around him and erasing all thoughts. Just feeling, he was left with just touch. _Ooh gods..._ He hadn't expected this. This felt so good. So much better than jerking off. So much better than a quick fuck. Cloud breathed out a moan, his eyelashes fluttering in ecstasy and fingers curling into his bed sheets as Reno's mouth found his flesh.

With Reno's warm breath in his hair, Cloud replied to the sigh with one of his own. Right now he was reduced to feeling and being, and his body felt like it was on fire. Turning his head a bit, Cloud caught Reno's eye once more, his eyelashes hooding his glowing eyes in a sultry gaze as he moaned. The slow rhythm Reno set was burning him alive, rubbing that sweet spot just enough to keep him high. Still, he climbed. Slowly, his body washed in gentle waves of growing lust.

Twisting back a little more, Cloud submitted to Reno- inviting him to claim his mouth once again. He was so lost in the now, but deep down he knew he'd be handing the Turk his balls on a plate tomorrow after he scrubbed tonight off his flesh. He couldn't forgive himself for this. Moaning into the kiss, all those thoughts of revenge were only on the back burner. Right now... gods, fuck them all, it felt amazing.

_Oh, gods…that mouth._ What was Cloud trying to do, suck what was left of his soul completely out of his body? _Back off Reno, while you still can,_ he told himself… but knew it was already too late. Here he was with his cock buried in the most dangerous man on the planet and all he could think of was how what was supposed to be a simple fuck just to rid himself of a fantasy that wouldn’t leave him alone had gotten completely out of hand. 

Self preservation at the expense of all else; the number one, inviolable law of the Turks, was as out of reach as the EMR he’d carelessly tossed aside when he climbed through Cloud’s window. Reno ruthlessly plundered that mouth, claiming, getting his head back in the game. Another protest was moaned into his mouth when Reno released Cloud’s cock, an objection that melted into a full-body shudder as Reno dragged his nails lightly up that length and gripped again for the downstroke, only to repeat the motion. 

Damn Lockhart for weakening his dominant arm, but it gave him an idea. Reno grazed his teeth over the same point on Cloud’s shoulder as she’d used, but with an entirely different intent. He bit down, using just enough pressure to get the blond’s attention, bringing his talented tongue into play along those sensitive nerves, rolling his hips to hit the blonde’s prostate randomly rather than with every thrust. Reno’s free hand gripped Cloud’s hip tightly, preventing him from moving in any way other than what Reno wanted. If Cloud was determined to kill him in the morning, the Turk was going to make damned sure it was worth his while.

Shuddering as Reno played with the pressure point on his shoulder, Cloud's eyes closed in ecstasy. He whimpered as the change of Reno's hips took away the constant and predictable rubbing against his sweet spot. That that he couldn't predict when it would come, made it all the more desirable. Whenever the angle was right and his cock did rub it, Cloud let out a soft cry.

Cloud knew just how badly he could beat Reno's ass; he could kill the man if he wanted to. And yet here he was submitting to him, trusting him to take care of his most primal need, and letting him set the pace. Fuck, it felt good. A little _too_ good. If he did kick the Turk's ass, it would be out of fear and anger that the man had been able to do this to him at all. "Ooh..." Cloud found himself becoming a little more vocal as his pleasure rose. He tried to stifle the cries of passion but as his passion escalated, his self control was being lost.

Reno brought his own hand to Cloud’s mouth, offering it to replace the blond’s in stifling his cries. He hadn’t failed to notice the blood trickling across the fingers of Cloud’s left hand where they tangled in the sheets. He’d bitten himself badly and Reno knew his own hand would be ravaged as well, but it didn’t matter. 

“Easy there,” he breathed into the blond’s ear. ”I know ya don’t want any unexpected company right now.” Reno almost cried out himself as Cloud bit down just above Reno’s thumb, panting harshly around it. It was every bit as painful as Reno had known it would be, but instead of distracting him, the sensation of his blood captured in that sweet mouth was something he could feel through his entire body. He’d drawn first blood himself, and there was no way Cloud could realize what he’d done…

The exchange of a blood bond was something only practiced among the Turks, carried out in private ritual among those most trusted. Reno’s passion for this incredible man flared higher and the gentle, almost languid rhythm he had set for them altered. Abruptly he drove into Cloud’s searing heat, answering the need which held them both in its unrelenting grasp. Scent and taste merged upon his tongue as Reno once again clamped his teeth into the blond’s shoulder. Silken skin over rippling steel, the sheen of sweat where his chest slid along Cloud’s back, the tight spiral that wound within him begging for release. 

It called Reno to fill the blond’s body with the proof of the passion Cloud demanded of his enemy, even as he offered up himself to long denied desire. Reno met him there, giving equally, even as he claimed. He raised his head to drag a ragged breath before burying his face again in soft hair, stifling his own cries and driving himself as deep as he could possibly go, pumping Cloud’s cock in an almost punishing grip, wordlessly daring Cloud to let go of everything and fall with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, its been awhile since I uploaded anything here! Thanks so much for your patience, everyone...going to try to do better from here on out! RL does get in the way, no matter how we may feel about it. Thank you so much to everyone for your response to the previous chapters! We appreciate you!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Reno, it was a simple enough assignment- but then surveillance becomes obsession, leading to secrets of a buried past.

~*~*~*~*~

 

The blond’s cries would have been beautiful, and surely would have woken the dead after they had roused the bar's upstairs residents. Still, even around Reno's hand, Cloud managed to make his pleasure known with muffled cries and grunts. His knuckles were white as they gripped the sheets hard to keep himself planted for Reno's hard thrusts, rocking him on the bed. Thankfully the bed had good springs and wasn't right up against the wall.

Cloud’s whole body was on fire so he didn't notice the pain of being marked so violently, he didn't notice that he instinctively reacted to the bite either- tilting his head to the side to submit to Reno's bite. All he could feel was the excruciating pleasure of Reno driving into his body harder and harder, deeper and deeper while his hand pumped Cloud's cock in an equally punishing grip and speed. It was all Cloud could do just to stay rooted to the bed like he was, his toes trying to dig into the floor as his knees pushed against the bed's edge.

_Gods, oh gods…_ When it hit him, took him off that ledge, he didn't know which way was up. His strangled cry had to be contained by the hand he bit. As he came, he finally realized he tasted blood and it fueled his orgasm even higher. His cock spurted his seed in streams beneath him on the blankets and his body clamped down around Reno's cock, wanting his release deep inside.

_Never before._ Reno could claim his share of intimate liaisons, but never before had there been anyone who demanded everything he was. It was almost as if Cloud topped from the bottom as he moved against him with ever increasing abandon, and Reno tried to concentrate enough to make sure they made no betraying sound. He clenched his teeth against his own cries as the blond’s orgasm hit with the force of a bolt spell. 

With Cloud's cock pulsing seemingly endlessly in Reno’s grasp, the redheaded Turk plunged deeply into that heat one last time, overwhelmed by Cloud’s velvet walls clenching, by how he arched back to rest his head against Reno’s shoulder, baring his throat. As Reno’s own shattering release whited out his vision, all thought fled. Unheeded, words slipped from him, gasped into the heat where he’d buried his face in Cloud’s neck, breathing deep of the scent of him, his tongue seeking that taste as if to embed this moment forever upon his senses. _“Blood to blood…I got your back…”_

 

Cloud gasped for breath as his body rode out its euphoric high. No one had made him soar so high since he had lost Zack. He told himself it was just because it had been a long time since he'd had sex; anyone could have done this to him. There was nothing special about this fuck, nothing at all. Lowering his head from Reno's shoulder, his arms began to shake in exhaustion from their intimate struggle. He idly wondered what Reno's words had meant… they had sounded like a vow. Perhaps just whispered in his orgasmic high- people often said stupid nonsense during sex.

Unable to stand anymore, he weakly crawled up on the bed and lay on his stomach. He had idle thoughts, mixed thoughts of asking Reno if he needed to stay the night, or asking Reno to kindly fuck off. But he had drifted off to sleep before he could decide which one he wanted to voice.

A hundred thoughts went through Reno’s mind as he caught his own breath, easing himself from Cloud’s body and allowing the blond to move away. _What right have I got to want to hold onto him anyway?_

It wasn’t as if Cloud welcomed his presence as anything other than a willing body. Still, it had hurt when Cloud hadn’t offered him a word in parting, merely falling almost face-first into his pillow, immediately asleep. Reno felt like a fool standing beside the bed, his own limbs shaking in exhaustion, his hands and body a mess in the aftermath. Part of him wanted to just run, to put the encounter behind him and deny it had ever taken place…but then there were the words he’d spoken. _Tseng and Rude are gonna kill me if they figure out what I’ve done! Okay, Reno…panic later. Get your ass cleaned up and out of here before all hell breaks loose._

 

Reno’s clothes were ruined anyway, so he used his shirt to mop up as best he was able. Before he wiped the evidence of Cloud’s powerful release from his hand however, he allowed himself to savor a single taste before he could change his mind. It wasn’t as if the blond hadn’t already imprinted himself indelibly upon Reno’s senses, but the urge to have just one more reminder of what had passed between them was irresistible. 

Irregardless of what he'd told himself about leaving, Reno sat carefully on the end of Cloud’s small bed, watching him in silence as the rest of the night wore away, just breathing the distinctive scent which permeated the small room. He savored the blond’s taste upon his tongue, thinking of all the reasons he should have already been far away, just one more shadow in the darkness. 

A small noise from farther down the hallway beyond Cloud’s door brought Reno back to reality. He hurried into his pants, threw his jacket over his bare back and wadded up the shirt he’d just used, along with his shoes, tossing it all out the window. Retrieving his EMR, he started after, only to pause and look back once more at Cloud’s sleeping form. Through the many nights Reno had watched from the rooftop across the alley, he had never seen Cloud appear peaceful in his sleep. 

Reno moved silently to the bedside once more, just watching for another long moment, looking his fill before he abruptly leaned down and claimed a final, soft kiss from the sleeping man. “Later, baby,” he whispered. Another noise from down the hallway sent him back to the window, silhouetted against the false dawn for a single moment before he was gone into what remained of the night.

~*~*~*~*~

When Cloud woke it was late in the morning, much later than usual. His first impression of the day was the strange scent in his room, then he remembered the night before and stirred, pushing himself up and drawing his knees under him. He had practically passed out on the man, making him wonder if he'd ever see him again after that. Even though he knew the Turk wasn't there, he glanced around his room anyway. Rubbing his eyes with a sigh, he wished his mixed emotions would resolve themselves; last night had surely and suddenly complicated his feelings.

In the shower, Cloud hissed when the hot water stung the mark on his shoulder; bringing the memory of Reno's teeth and vow to mind sharply. A quick fuck was one thing, but never before had his partners permanently marked him, drawn blood, or said such ridiculous things to him. He healed fast, but his body still scarred and the bite on his shoulder would be there forever, even after the wound healed. This made Cloud fume. Who the hell walked away after doing something like that to someone? He knew he’d bitten the man's hand hard, he recalled the taste of blood on his tongue.

Deliveries awaited him. He had three messages on his cell already. Deciding to distract himself with work, he dressed and headed down to the bar for a bite. Whatever this thing with Reno was, if there was anything there at all, it would have to wait.

Across town from where he’s spent the night, Reno called in to work, telling Tseng he would be taking a personal day. He’d saved up a few and rarely used them, so it shouldn’t be an issue. As a Turk, he preferred to be in the middle of whatever was happening and it wasn't like there was anyone waiting for him whenever he decided to call it a day. 

Reno debated turning off his PHS as soon as he ended the call. He welcomed the chance to sleep the day away, but some half-considered impulse had made him program his private number into Cloud’s PHS as he watched the blond sleep. Through the years he’d learned to trust those instincts, but maybe it was just because something in him hoped Cloud would call. Reno shook his head in self-disparagement. _Wishful thinking, Red._ He cursed his tired body and sluggish brain for indulging in such nonsense. 

A quick, hot shower eased the worst of his aches, even as it washed away the remains of the night’s activities. Drying himself off but not bothering to dress otherwise, Reno studied the damage Cloud had done to his hand. The bite was deep and painful, but he wouldn’t have traded the experience for unmarred skin. 

A quick rummage through the bathroom cabinet produced a potion and Reno gritted his teeth, knowing what he was about to do would sting like a sonofabitch. It did. Still, a Cure might have taken away the wound entirely and Reno _wanted_ it to scar, proof that what had happened wasn’t just his imagination. He knew he’d have to wear his fingerless gloves for a few days to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to it and hope his grip wasn’t affected. It had been rather stupid of him to offer his weapon hand for the bite, it would be sore for a good while yet. 

The sun was fully up when Reno at last fell into his bed, wishing as sleep overtook him that Cloud was there to share it with him.

 

After a quick bite of breakfast, Cloud drew out his cell and scribbled down the three delivery orders onto a napkin, folding it into the wrist of his riding glove when he was done. He had hoped one of the messages was from Reno and silently scoffed at himself for having such fantasies. What had last night been but just a one night stand? An odd encounter perhaps, who else but that Turk would climb up through his window, after all?

Cloud’s shoulder itched like hell as the day wore on, a sign it was healing and closing up, but also a constant reminder of the man who had bitten him so hard as to permanently mark him. The day drew on, seemingly never to end as his thoughts kept straying to the night before. More than once he found himself in a restroom drenching his face in cold water.

As the sun set and his nerves had finally had it, Cloud decided to call his last client of the day to postpone the delivery to first thing the next morning. It was a well established customer, someone he had done enough business with that he wouldn't lose them by postponing one transaction. When he opened his phonebook, he forgot everything and the world stood still. How had _that_ name and number come to be listed in his personal phone? Cloud stared at it until he had to swallow a growing lump in his throat.

Pressing his thumb over Reno's name, Cloud watched the screen until it began to ring, then slowly lifted it to his ear.

A sound he should recognize grated against Reno’s senses, dragging him from the little sleep he’d finally managed after tossing fitfully all though the day.

Fractured dreams blurred with memories, all of them jumbled together with but one thing in common…Cloud Strife. The Plate coming down, climbing Da Chao in Wutai…hovering in a chopper above the Shinra army, watching them advance against a man who stood alone…. only Zack was looking at _him_ instead of those who were approaching to gun him down, trying to tell Reno something, something the Turk knew was important. 

He circled the chopper lower, trying to hear, but the rotors drowned everything out. Reno glanced away, searching out a place to land and when he looked back, Zack was in the cockpit with him, in the copilot’s seat where Rude should have been. With his hands frozen upon the controls, unable to speak, they watched silently as history repeated itself and Zack lost his final battle. 

Then the former First turned those violet eyes to him and spoke what Reno had been unable to understand before. _“He needs you, Red”_ and then Zack’s PHS was ringing, but how could that be, when he lay dying on the ground below them? It rang and rang, but Zack made no move to answer it. Then a blinding glare flashed across the chopper’s windscreen and Reno could finally move again as he tried to shield his eyes…

The setting sun slanted directly into Reno’s face as he groped about for his PHS. Not quite awake, he almost fumbled it when he saw the number displayed, but at least it hadn’t stopped ringing before he could get his brain in gear to answer.

 

_“…Cloud?”_


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud nearly hung up when it was becoming possible that no one would answer. When a groggy voice did pick up, a bolt of anxiety and fear and excitement made Cloud's heart race. He froze for a long moment, quiet and unsure now what to say. Hanging up crossed his mind, so did vowing to cut off the Turk's dick. What came out when Cloud opened his mouth surprised even himself, his voice sounded so hurt and quiet and he _hated_ showing any weakness to Reno. He should have just hung up. "You left..."

Startled by the fact that Cloud had called him at all, there was a long pause before Reno replied. What was he supposed to say? _'You didn’t ask’_ or, _'I didn’t think you wanted me to stay?''_ The dream he’d had came back in a sudden rush and before Reno could change his mind, he said: “I did stay…until I heard somebody start movin’ around. Didn’t figure ya would appreciate ‘em findin’ me there.”

Reno had stayed? Cloud looked over at the setting sun's brilliance and let last night wash over him in a new way. Tifa would never have opened his bedroom door, but Reno wouldn't have known that. Cloud wondered how different it would have been to wake up in Reno’s arms. Then he scratched that idea, remembering his violent thoughts from the morning about the scar and having his bedroom suddenly invaded.

Cloud knew why he had called now, and all the other questions he wanted answered didn't seem that important at the moment. "Will I see you again?"

“Well,” Reno replied, fully awake now, “That’d depend on why ya wanted to see me. If ya still want to kick my ass, prob’ly not. But if ya want somethin’ else…” he purred, glancing at his watch, “I’ll see ya in a couple of hours.” He couldn't help but hope Cloud was feeling _something_ for him, if the tone of his voice was any indication. Hells, this whole situation was beyond strange, but maybe worth taking a chance on. 

"To start, I want answers." Cloud didn't want them over the phone, either. He wanted to see Reno’s eyes when he got them. "I'll be at the church tonight." He should have time to relax before the Turk got there. He hung up on Reno and then dialed his waiting client to postpone the order.

Cloud didn't want to worry about someone overhearing anything he and Reno said to one another, and if it did escalate into a fight or another passionate encounter, he certainly didn't want anyone to hear that. Once inside the place he often used to be alone, Cloud lit a lamp he kept there and sat on one of the broken pillars, listening to the quiet.

Reno lay staring at his phone for a long moment after Cloud hung up before flipping it closed with a small huff. “Answers? Don’t we all, baby…” He rolled onto his back, dragging his pillow up to block the invasion of sunlight. It didn’t really surprise him that Cloud would want to meet at the church, and in fact he was rather grateful. It was a peaceful place, and considering the events of the previous night, just might serve to keep the situation civilized. Reno really didn’t want to argue with Cloud. 

Nobody ever seemed to realize that even a Turk could get tired, be worn down not only by the past, but by thinking too much. Reno wondered if Cloud realized that his sanctuary had seen a lot of the Turks, even after the business with the Remnants was done. Reno understood Tseng’s continued presence there. The boss had felt more for the Ancient than anyone ever realized, and the church seemed to be of some comfort to him. Even Rude stopped by there from time to time. Reno himself went simply to be somewhere the blond spent so much time, but also enjoying the peace of mind he always found there. He liked to remember how he’d allowed Cloud and the Ancient to escape so long ago- something for which Tseng had officially raked him over the coals, but Reno had seen the gratitude in those dark eyes and felt satisfied with a job well done. 

Deliberately dismissing the old memories, Reno forced himself from the bed, not really surprised at his lingering exhaustion. The day hadn’t brought much in the way of rest, but he’d functioned on much less. Yawning, Reno dragged himself through the routine of getting dressed and out the door, deciding to grab a bite to eat along the way. It went without saying that tonight would be difficult at best, so he picked up a bottle of good wine, just to have something on hand as a peace offering. Some instinct made him reluctant to bring whiskey, feeling it would be inappropriate for the sacred place. 

Reno parked his motorcycle in a narrow space at the side of the church, not truly surprised about Aerith’s sanctuary being one of the few things still standing solidly after everything that had happened. It seemed right, somehow. By the time he’d scanned the surroundings and was satisfied he hadn’t been followed then made his way through the remains of the massive old doors, Reno was ready to face whatever the night would bring. 

Cloud regarded Reno from the glow of the lantern in silence. He didn't move yet, just took the approaching figure in. Reno seemed tired as all hell, and Cloud realized now his voice on the phone had sounded exhausted as well. Whatever hell he had wanted to put the Turk through now diffused somewhat as he saw the other was already putting himself through it.

Rising to his feet as Reno neared, Cloud picked the lantern up and gestured towards the seats, a few of which someone had managed to restore after Loz had destroyed them. "How long have you been watching my bedroom, Reno?" Cloud sat at one end of the long seat and placed the lantern back on the floor. "Though maybe it doesn't matter now, I want to know why." 

Reno heaved a deep sigh, dropping down beside Cloud and swinging the bottle he’d carried, set it down with a muted thud on the seat between them. He’d hoped to ease into this conversation, but it was not to be. Apparently last night had been stewing in Cloud's mind all day as much as it had in his own, disturbing what little sleep he’d been able to manage. _How long had he been awake before today, anyhow? Two days, three?_ Even mako enhancement only went so far. Reno ran a tired hand across his eyes, rubbing at them before raising a bleary aquamarine gaze to meet Cloud’s blue. “Alright,” Reno replied wearily. “We’ll cut to the chase. Before ya get bent outta shape, it ain’t because of Rufus still daydreamin’ about ya joinin’ the company…at least not anymore.”

Cloud visibly relaxed at that statement. He hadn't been aware until right then how tense he was, or that he had subconsciously been looking towards a confrontation about Rufus. If the ShinRa president wasn’t looking to recruit Cloud and using his Turk to spy, then... Cloud's eyes flickered to the bottle between them and then back up into Reno’s tired blue-greens gaze. "Then it's just _you_ watching. Last night wasn't some..." Cloud shifted and paused mid-thought. "It was real."

The lantern's flame danced, giving Cloud a needed distraction to avert his eyes as the idea of someone stalking him for their own desire and wants made his face and neck heat up.

One corner of Reno’s mouth quirked into a muted half smile. “Yeah…just me.” Reno’s expression was a long way from his trademark, jaded smirk, and was therefore more revealing. His eyes softened, hearing something in Cloud’s tone that he hadn’t expected. _Could Cloud want… really have felt what had happened was more than just a one-time fuck?_ Thinking of what he’d said the night before, how he’d unwittingly spoken the vow of blood bond, Reno dreaded how everything could still blow up in his face, but made his weary mind focus on the present. It didn’t matter, not now. He knew he’d meant what he said. Reno had Cloud’s back wherever that led, whether Cloud wanted him or not. “…and as real as it gets, baby…”

_Baby?_ Cloud looked back up into Reno’s face, saw the soft half smile and felt his heart stop for a moment. A thousand things went through his mind: _no one should feel like that for him, he didn't deserve it, he didn't want or need this, the Turk was lying to him, playing with him, but maybe he was serious; it would feel wonderful to wake up in his arms…_ a flicker of Cloud’s earlier anger returned as he recalled his permanent bite mark. The itch had faded but he hadn't looked at the scar yet, he hadn't _wanted_ to see it. Cloud touched his shoulder, feeling under the material of his shirt to trace the scar ridges. He healed fast, too fast for Cures to stop the scarring process. "That was really presumptuous, what you did." Cloud glanced down at Reno's hand and blinked in shock.

Reno’s hand twitched involuntarily as he resisted the urge to hide the heavy scarring Cloud had first glanced away from, but now held his pointedly stare. Reno knew Cloud was aware that he could have healed it without a trace, if he’d wanted. He looked back up, knowing Cloud would not be satisfied by anything less than the complete truth. Reno reached for Cloud's hand with his scarred one, glad when the blond allowed him to twine their fingers together. Reno wouldn’t ask to see Cloud’s shoulder, not yet. Before he could lose his nerve, he closed his eyes and began. “Yeah, I shouldna done that,” Reno admitted. “Not even if ya knew what it means…not without askin’ ya first.” Reno paused, gripping Cloud’s hand tighter as if to gather courage. “Ask Vincent sometime about how it all started… only the older Turks really know.”


	6. Chapter 6

Cloud squeezed Reno's hand, the contact making his heart race. He inched closer and reached up with his free hand to cup the redhead’s cheek and turned his face back to catch his eyes. "I don't care about that part now." He slid his fingers to Reno's nape. "I want to know what it means to _you._ " He had an idea, but he wanted to hear it. Pulling the other in, he lightly pressed his lips to Reno's. "Tell me."

Reno leaned into the kiss, capturing Cloud’s mouth when he would have drawn away. His other hand came up to trace lightly across where he’d bitten the blond, feeling the extent of the scar through his shirt. Reno knew he’d bitten pretty hard, but Cloud hadn’t complained. In fact, it had seemed to provoke some long-buried, almost feral response… something hidden too deep, for too long. Reno knew it had for himself, and wondered at the nature of that power. It was the same bond he had with Tseng and Rude, yet different somehow. And Reno meant to find out why.

Between them, the wine bottle started to tip over, but was caught where their legs pressed together at the knee. Reno held the kiss for a long moment, just tasting, exploring, renewing Cloud upon his senses. A bit of his old, cocky manner surfaced as he answered. “It means we’re married,” Reno teased, before leaning in and nipping at those tempting lips again.

Cloud made a soft snorting noise at the joke and squeezed Reno's nape a little in warning before he removed his hand. Taking Reno's hand off his shirt he guided it under the material, allowing Reno to feel his marred flesh. A gasp and shiver answered him, as the redhead's fingers touched his bare flesh and the sensitive scar.

Drawing back an inch to catch Reno's gaze, Cloud was trembling at the feeling of Reno's hand on him, something raw and wild trying to surface. Suddenly all his senses seemed more acute and Reno was overwhelming every single one of them. In trying to speak, all he could voice was a soft moan.

“Tell me ya still got a bed here baby,” Reno said softly, allowing his hand to wander over those ridged scars and then down to tease a pebbled nipple. “I don’t think I can give ya a repeat of last night just yet, but I _am_ gonna treat ya right…” Reno traced his tongue along the shell of Cloud’s ear, following the line of his jaw, kissing down the smooth column of his throat. He felt hands in his hair, loosening the tie that held his ponytail. Those _hands._

"Yeah..." Cloud all but purred and vibrated at the feel of Reno's mouth on his body. Threading his fingers into red hair he lightly dragged his blunt nails over Reno's scalp. Tilting his chin up, he submitted instinctively.

"Come here." Cloud took Reno's hands and drew him to his feet, guiding him to where he kept his bedroll. Pulling Reno down over his body he sighed; how _right_ it felt. "You don't have to do anything now, you're exhausted."

Reno smiled tiredly, allowing Cloud to lead him, sinking down over the blonde and reveling in the sensation. Damn, how fine Cloud was, so much better than anything Reno had ever hoped for. As Cloud pulled him down, Reno swore to himself that he wasn’t going to do anything to mess this up, to give those amazing blue eyes any reason to ever again look upon him with disgust or scorn.

For now, all Reno wanted was to wrap himself around Cloud and hold him through the night, just to know he was there. Just to know how lucky he was. Nobody ever got to see this side of Reno, not until now. Wanting to feel as much of his skin against Cloud as possible, Reno moved just enough to get out of his clothes, helping as the other man shed his own, leaning in to kiss soft skin as it was revealed. Then he waited as Cloud settled before draping himself over the blond’s back. “Sorry, baby…I swear I’ll make it up to ya.”

Taking Reno's hand, Cloud sighed and relaxed under Reno's weight and warmth. It felt so right, so amazing to be here with him… flesh on flesh, the other's breath so near his ear and ticking his nape. "Tomorrow," Cloud brethed. "Tonight, just hold me and sleep." He could feel their heartbeats slowing, matching pace; their breath relaxing and matching rhythm. When Cloud began to drift off, he knew he'd wake up this time with Reno at his back.

Reno’s last thought before his eyes drifted closed may have seemed strange to anyone else, but he could have sworn there was a figure with black, spiky hair and violet eyes standing just beyond the lantern’s light. A figure who smiled at him. Releasing a slow breath, Reno allowed himself to fully relax; somehow knowing nothing would disturb them here. The peace of the church settled like a warm blanket around them when Reno’s whispered agreement. “Tomorrow…”

 

Reno woke in the grey light of dawn, wondering as he did at the sensation of having experienced his first solid, peaceful night’s sleep in years. Their surroundings were little more than dim outlines at this early hour, but they may as well have been nonexistent as Reno remembered where he was, the warmth of Cloud’s body where it curled against his own drawing him back down to snug himself tighter against his lover’s skin. If asked to describe what he was feeling, Reno would only have been able to define it as a rarely-experienced contentment.

Closing his eyes once more, Reno allowed himself to simply breathe, but then the temptation to touch became overpowering. Gliding his hand over the curve of Cloud’s shoulder and down to cross his hip, Reno buried his face in soft spikes, tasted the nape of his neck. Cloud slept on, but a faint smile graced his lips, his golden lashes lying gracefully against his cheek. In the dim morning, he looked younger; as young as he’d been when Reno first noticed him tagging along with Zack, looking as if the world had finally begun to be a place that wasn’t all bad. 

So many years lost and gone, but the man lying beside him still had that same beauty, that same innocence in his sleep, in this place.

Reno thought about himself in comparison, feeling as if his years as a Turk had almost chewed him up and spit him out. He wondered how he’d managed not to self-destruct before now, with nothing but an empty apartment and emptier days and nights stretching endlessly before him. The face Reno presented to the world had very little to do with the man himself; the boy who’d once thought of his job as the beginning of some grand adventure and later, a nightmare with an unmarked grave as its end.

What a disappointment it had all become, until the day he’d seen blue eyes staring warily at him from a face that in spite of Cloud’s youth, had already seen too much. Those eyes mirrored Reno’s own, but without the mask Reno wore as both habit and a matter of survival. Reno had immediately been lost in that blue, but Zack’s violet gaze had warned him without speaking that Cloud was off limits. If it had been anyone but Zack, Reno would have challenged that claim. He’s waited…and then both Cloud and Zack were gone.

Reno’s mind shook off the memory of the day he’d first found Cloud again; he wouldn’t look into that darkness willingly. The one he’d wanted so badly was now lying beside him; but what a terrible price they had paid to be here. Reno couldn’t help but recall the dream he’d had at his apartment and what he thought he’d seen the night before. He found himself peering into the morning shadows, but nothing stirred.

There was only the lingering scent of flowers, the rippling sheen of water from Aerith’s pool, and the peace blanketing them within its embrace. For the first time, Reno felt as if his presence here was not an intrusion. He was still wrapped in that sense of belonging when he felt Cloud stirring to wakefulness.


	7. Chapter 7

Cloud had never been much of a morning person. Though he hadn't been able to discover that about himself until recently; the majority of his life robbed of typical mornings. Today was different, however.

Today felt right. In the past when he'd woken up with someone touching him, it was cause for panic. That fear had carried later into life with the partners he'd entertained and slept with; even recently- he had thrown most of them against a far wall before he was fully awake and realized what was going on.

Today Cloud knew exactly where he was and who was touching him and it brought back a sense of safety and joy he hadn't felt since he'd been with Zack. Sighing, he stirred against the firm, strong body beside him with a smile. Gods, this felt so right. Nothing in his life had been feeling right for a very long time; even defeating Sephiroth through Kadaj had seemed off, somehow. The church enveloped them in warmth and peace and quiet, the silence whispering as only the air stirred, barely caressing the bed of flowers and rippling the water. The air was sweet with flowers and Reno's scent.

Turning his head, he looked at Reno through blurry eyes. Even through the sleep haze, he could tell the man had slept well; he looked radiant and healthier than the night before. Once again his senses seemed to just want to focus on Reno- his soft but firm touch, the unique scent of his body, his sharp and handsome countenance looking back at Cloud, the sound of his breath and movements... his taste...

Few people, perhaps only Zack, saw the smile that Cloud gave Reno then. Tilting his head a bit further, he sought Reno's lips, submitting to him as they kissed. Oh gods, his _taste._

“Now that’s worth wakin’ up for,” Reno breathed against the corner of Cloud’s mouth when they parted for air. It may have been sacrilege to think so, given their surroundings, but Reno’s altar was right here; living perfection formed in shades of gold and blue and alabaster. 

Settling himself on his knees between Cloud’s thighs, Reno curled his fingers, spreading them, reaching forward, drawing them in a feather-light touch from the blond’s wrists where they lay above Cloud’s head. Down his arms, slowly, increasing the pressure as his hands traveled. Down his sides, avoiding all but the barest brush across his nipples, across the ribs, spreading his fingers wider. He purposely allowed his thumbs the barest touch down each side of Cloud’s erection to his sack, barely stirring the fine, golden dusting of hair before drawing his hands along Cloud’s thighs to his knees. And then he did it again, in reverse, following the same path back up, flame red hair creating a softer sensation as it slithered and slid across Cloud’s skin. Reno held that intense blue gaze with his own as Cloud arched beneath him like a cat; breathing a soft moan as Reno captured Cloud’s addictive lips in a heated, almost devouring kiss the moment he was back within reach of them.

This was the best way to wake up, bar none. Cloud's flesh was aflame with the touch Reno's hands and hair had so seductively painted up and down his body. He practically purred at the way Reno simultaneously worshiped and claimed him with the fierce kiss. Bringing his arms down, he wrapped them around Reno's neck and moaned into the kiss. Had this happened any other way, under any other emotions, he would have been ridden with guilt for the location and might have even stopped it. Right now, it felt right. He felt safe in the church and had felt safe in Reno's arms. It couldn't have been more perfect for them to do this here and now.

When they parted briefly for air, Cloud breathed out a little whimper and touched Reno's face as their eyes locked. It didn't seem real, that this beautiful man above him now had been pining after him for so long. They had all the time in the world now, but Cloud wondered what could have been had this rift between them been closed sooner. Wrapping his legs over Reno's lower back, he drew the man down so their erections lay trapped together between them. The intimate contact made Cloud gasp and shiver.

Reno had earned his reputation as a talker, but as he looked down upon Cloud arching against him in wanton submission, he lost all ability to speak. There was so much he wanted to say…but all he could do was watch his hands’ path along Cloud’s skin until he slithered backward, bent down, his mouth following everywhere his hands had just traveled. 

Everything that existed in his world was right here, overwhelming Reno with its reality. Cloud’s soft musk, intoxicating in its maleness, made Reno want to rub himself all over with it. He grabbed a handful of his hair and dragged it through the precum welling from Cloud’s straining cock, then rubbed the strand over his own face, inhaling deeply. Reno’s other hand curled around that length, pumping slowly, his grip feather-light. His half lidded eyes never looked away from Cloud’s azure gaze, allowing the blond to see everything Reno couldn’t yet tell him with words.

The hand which had been holding the long, bright strands opened and drifted down, came to rest in the center of Cloud’s chest, feeling the strong heartbeat. His fingers curled gently, shaping his hand into a gesture of protection, his eyelids falling closed. For the first time Reno dared to think _Mine_... 

Left hand and right caressing, heartbeat echoing doubled beneath his touch as Reno bent down, capturing a pebbled nipple in his mouth, twirling his tongue with increasing pressure. The hand over Cloud’s heart moved lower, making room for him to trace with lips and tongue to the other side, claiming his other nipple equally. A sound between sigh and moan rewarded him as Reno’s free hand sought under the edge of the bedroll for the small tube he’d placed there the night before, bringing it within easy reach. Reno’s mouth trailed down and down, tracing across silken skin, circling Cloud’s navel, making him arch, seeking that touch lower still.

Cloud almost purred and mewled in his current state of mind and body. So relaxed and yet so eager for more and more until he knew he'd boil over and devour them both in his heat. The sounds he made couldn't be contained as Reno pampered him with physical attention. The way he moved was also in response to the redhead: Cloud hadn't been touched like this in eons. Yes, he’d had lovers but none had treated him so kindly, none had taken the time to kindle the fire so thoroughly before letting the fire blaze. None of them had been Reno. So when he arched in submission and shifted to get closer, it wasn't impatience but a silent cry of desire. Reno was doing everything right.

"Mmn..." he whimpered as he watched Reno, felt his mouth so close and his hands closer. Catching a glimpse of the tube, Cloud shivered in anticipation and bent a knee to bring the leg higher and invite Reno lower. With the lube so close to their sleeping bodies through the night it was pleasant and warm. Feeling warm pressure at his entrance he whined low in his throat, one hand coming down to lightly run through Reno's hair. A soft gasp as Reno eased a finger inside, Cloud's heart leaping. What he saw in those eyes couldn't really be put into words, but he could feel it.

Reno knew he was lost, felt his years-long loyalties and priorities shift as he fell. One, long, slow pass of his tongue down the length of Cloud’s arousal as his fingers circled and dipped within that incredible warmth, he nuzzled an open mouth kiss into that special hollow where Cloud’s balls join the base of his cock; tasting, breathing deeply again the scent of the one he was claiming as his own. For a long moment, Reno lost himself there before a soft cry and undulating hips caused him to press his fingers deeper, seeking. He kissed his way back to the tip of that burning length, timing the brush of his fingers with the act of sliding his lips over and down, slowly engulfing to the base. Cloud moaned again, his hand blindly seeking along the redhead’s arm until he caught Reno’s free hand, entwining their fingers together. 

Cloud’s cock throbbed against his tongue, silk over steel as the blond’s hips rose and fell, wanting more. Reno hollowed his cheeks, increasing the pressure, his fingers brushing inside that heat just enough to make Cloud writhe against his hand. Whimpers became moans as Reno swirled his tongue in firm, lazy patterns back up to the tip, dipping into the slit for the taste he craved, knowing his desire for it is swiftly becoming addiction. So distracted is his lover that Reno doubts Cloud realizes how carefully he is being stretched, how one finger has become two, and then three. His own cock throbbed in time with the heartbeat against his tongue, demanding Reno complete what he has begun. 

Reluctantly, Reno eased his fingers from Cloud’s body to reach again for the lube, working one-handed because he wasn’t willing to let go of the fingers so tightly twined with his own, barely able to stand the roughness of his own touch against his skin as he prepared himself. He rose above Cloud’s body, watching in fascination the vision of the beautiful man as he came undone beneath him, blue eyes glazed in a passion Reno knows is equal to, if not greater than his own. Leaning down, he again captured those soft lips with his own, almost losing his breath entirely as he sanks within Cloud’s welcoming body in one slow, smooth glide. 

It's like they're made for one another, how perfectly Reno fills him and makes him soar. Legs wrapped around the man, Cloud doesn't let go of his hand but he's not sure who should catch who or maybe its just so they can fall together. How fast this has happened, these feelings for a man he would have gladly beaten to a pulp just the other day now becoming something more, something Cloud hasn't felt since Zack. 

Fingernails lightly grazing Reno's back, Cloud moaned into the kiss as he felt Reno’s cock ease inside a little deeper. Pausing for a moment deep inside to feel each other, to sense the growing, unspoken connection between them in a physical way. Ooh gods. Then movement, long and slow strokes as Reno slid nearly all the way out and then back inside, deeper again. Cloud gasped, breaking their sensual kiss as the head of Reno’s hard cock brushed his sweet spot.

"Reno..." Cloud moaned, looking up into eyes burning with passion. "Aah!" His blunt nails bit a little harder as once more his sweet spot was lavished with a caress.

At Cloud’s low, sultry voicing of his name, Reno gasped, having to grit his teeth and still his movements. Cloud’s nails were a benediction upon his skin, his voice resonating through Reno from head to toes, centering itself where their bodies joined, pulsing, threatening to drive him over the edge too soon. Reno’s eyes squeezed shut, exerting every ounce of control he possessed, his breath hissing through his teeth. Reno’s thoughts raced, wondering how it was that this one man had come to have such an effect upon him. 

This was beyond physical, stabbing deep and true into a place closely guarded. Somehow, Reno realized that a purely physical relationship with Cloud would never be enough; a simple fuck before walking away was no longer possible…and the thought was enough to almost terrify him when he’d never been afraid of anything before. The bite wound Cloud had inflicted upon him where their hands joined pulsed in time with his heartbeat…and in this sacred place, he somehow knew such things resonated beyond the plane of the physical. _Oh, Baby…_ he panted, finally regaining enough control of himself to be able to move once more. _…what have I done to us?_


	8. Chapter 8

Bringing his hand from Reno's back to cup the nape of his neck, Cloud shushed Reno softly. "Maybe you've just opened our eyes," he replied. He could see Reno's mixed emotions on his face- the fear, the desire, the passion. He felt those inside himself as well. It was happening so fast, but he wasn't going to ignore those feelings this time.

Kissing Reno again, Cloud submitted to him and gave himself up to the Turk. "Take me, Reno," he whispered against his lips. "... you've already marked me, I want you to take me." Seeking out those green eyes, Cloud felt himself fall hard. _Gods, so fast..._ he dared not think or say it yet but he knew inside he was going to fall in love with this man.

Reno’s entire body shuddered at Cloud’s words, the truth in his gaze. With everything in him, Reno responded. Scooping the blond into his arms and rocking backward, he held Cloud close, so close he had to concentrate upon not restricting his breathing, Reno rolled his hips in a solid, steady rhythm, each thrust a little stronger, seeming a little deeper than the one before. His lips traveled over Cloud’s face in gentle kisses before capturing his lover’s mouth again, his tongue seeking, caressing. 

Everything he’d denied himself, had forgotten how to believe for too many years broke forth as Reno became ever more vocal between those drowning kisses, his cries almost wrung from him. His hands wandered almost desperately over Cloud’s skin, wanting to touch all of him at once, feeling Cloud’s strength beneath his hands. Nothing else existed as Reno allowed him to see everything he’d held too tightly for too long and laid his damaged heart at Cloud’s feet.

Overwhelmed by the passion he felt and saw in Reno, Cloud didn't want it to end. With arms loosely wrapped around Reno, he explored his lover's body as his own was explored. Hands he once might have liked to cut off now brought him nothing but pleasure and warmth. "Aah..." He moaned in answer to Reno's own cries as their bodies moved together, developing a fine sheen of sweat under each other's hands and coming ever closer to that climactic edge.

"Nnh!" So strong and deep, Reno's cock felt glorious moving inside him. "Nn... yes..." Cloud slid his hands up Reno's back, clinging to him as his body began to tighten. "Reno... uhn, please..."

Reno drew back just far enough to see his lover’s face, his rhythm becoming choppy and erratic. He wanted to look into Cloud’s eyes, see his soul as they approached the edge together. Cloud was so beautiful in his unguarded passion, his cries driving them both ever higher. Cloud’s blue eyes glowed mako-bright behind fluttering lids and where his cock was trapped between them was like a burning brand, as hot as the velvet walls gripping Reno without mercy. It was too much, too real, too intense. Reno’s own body tightened in response and with his last coherent thought, Reno whispered against Cloud’s lips, claiming that tempting mouth in a burning, claiming kiss before breaking it for a gasping breath. 

All was fire, but just for an instant, there was another place, a place where a field of flowers stretched endlessly to the horizon. Just for the space of a heartbeat, the man in his arms became _other,_ looking at him from sad, violet eyes…and then Cloud blinked and the vision passed. Reno fought the involuntary shudder it left in its wake, unwilling to allow anything to rob them of this shining moment of perfection. “Give it to me, Cloud…come for me…”

Whining in response, Cloud's moans became gasping cries as his body clamped down around Reno's pumping cock. He was vaguely, momentarily aware that something was disturbing his lover but then there it was, that tightly-wound coil unable to take anymore and springing forth- erupting in powerful streams up their stomachs and chests as he gasped out a moan. He felt Reno release deep inside him a heartbeat later, triggering a loud cry of passion. So perfect and right, it felt amazing. Somewhere as they both rode their orgasms out, he moaned Reno's name, clinging to him harder and never once breaking eye contact.

When Cloud’s body tightened around him, Reno’s world exploded from within. Nothing existed but Cloud’s eyes, his heart beating against Reno’s own, the tenor of his cries. Reno could do nothing but respond, feeling the blond’s release scalding between them demanded his own, Reno vaguely heard his own keening as he felt himself being turned inside out, the throbbing of his hand where Cloud had bitten him pulsing in time to the beat of his heart and a release that seemed to go on endlessly. “Cloud…” he chanted over and over as he buried his hands in that spiky golden hair, staring into a blue more brilliant than an autumn sky, wondering what the blond saw in him.

Wondering if he dared speak the words hammering in his throat, Reno hesitated, instead skimming his hands over every place he could reach on Cloud’s body. Words had always come too easily for him…in everything but where they mattered most.

Feeling Reno's release deep inside, Cloud's grip on Reno tightened. "Reno..." He rode their shared orgasm, staring into his lover's eyes. Never before had he felt so right. As their orgasms faded down and they lay entangled, he shivered in Reno's embrace and touched his face. "Reno," his voice was husky and soft. "I don't know how this happened so fast, but I want to be yours." He whimpered as Reno slipped free, breaking their intimate connection, but Cloud still felt it in his chest. Pressing in closer, he nuzzled Reno's neck and shoulder. "Will you have me?"

“Ya really mean that, don’tcha baby?” Reno lifted a hand to cup Cloud’s face, tracing his thumb gently along the blond’s cheekbone. His eyes were solemn, searching that vivid gaze. “Yeah…ya do,” he said, answering his own question. “In everything ya ever done, ya always told the truth.” Reno’s hand maintained the gentle caress as he continued. “I’m gonna take a chance on believin’ ya, cause Shiva knows I been wantin’ ya a long time.” 

Reno’s thumb paused in its motion as the redhead’s emerald gaze intensified. “You’re _mine,_ Cloud…and ya know what that means to a Turk. We don’t forget, we don’t hold back, and we defend what’s ours…to the death. _But…”_ Here Reno paused, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, savoring the scent of flowers and their lovemaking which lingered in the still air. Reno’s lips descended and claimed Cloud’s firmly and deeply, before he broke away. “…even if I wasn’t what I am …you’re still _mine._ Can ya deal with that?”

Cloud took a breath, at first confused and then as the meaning of it sunk in, he trembled. "Reno... I don't care what you are, whatever you become... for me, from now on it's not about that. Maybe before I'd have skewered you for it, because I couldn't look past the title.

But..." Cloud wasn't sure he could explain it and a long pause developed before he pressed his temple to Reno's in defeat. "You make me feel safe," he whispered, voice riddled with emotions. "You make me _feel."_ How long it had been since someone had managed to do that to him, and Cloud wasn't about to let anything blind him from those emotions.

Reno understood only too well what Cloud was trying to say. Too many times as Turks, they had to shut themselves down, block away everything, even the rare good times. If they left a crack in their shield at all, the knowledge of what they’d lived through, what they’d done would drive them insane. But those times were past. Reno knew he’d been right, when he marked Cloud as he had. Or maybe something beyond them both had prodded that sleeping instinct. It didn’t matter…what was done was done, and Reno wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Reno pulled Cloud into his arms almost fiercely, holding him so close it was a wonder the blond didn’t complain, but Cloud’s arms came around him just as tightly, and Reno buried his face in shining gold. Cloud was fragile; and even if the blond hadn’t admitted it freely, Reno knew that edge… he’d walked it himself. It had taken Tseng and Rude both to pull him back from the abyss. At the time, he’d wondered why; why they hadn’t just let him go. Reno had fought them tooth and nail, until they’d invoked the blood bond, giving him the strength and will to go on. Even afterward, he’d masked himself with his ‘street’ persona. Cocky and arrogant covered despair very well, and no one was ever allowed close enough to see the truth. Until now. Now there was someone Reno could protect, someone who saw him as he was and knew the same pain. Now it was time to feel more, and for the one he held, Reno would willingly take that risk.

Cloud would not have seen this coming the other day. Even now it seemed too good to be true but he didn't care, he would take the risk. He was starved for this; for someone who finally made him feel wanted, safe, and warm. With his arms around Reno he could feel similar, delicate emotions and understanding emanating from his lover.

Remembering their violent first encounter just the other night, Cloud tightened his arms and sighed. "Did I hurt your hand?" He asked  
softly, not wanting to pull away even an inch he felt so wonderful  
like this.

“Baby, my hand is just fine...never better,” Reno replied as he flexed it. It was nothing less than the truth. Sometime during the night, the pain had faded to a sensation somewhere between a dull ache and the pinprick-tingling of returning circulation. Reno focused on the sensation, amazed by it. The wounds he bore from Rude and Tseng had not healed so quickly, nor had they left anything behind other than a twinge now and then. Reno could feel them from time to time, there behind his eyes. There was something about that…something significant he needed to piece together, but for now, it wasn’t important. The man in his arms was all that mattered. “How about your shoulder?” Reno asked. “I shouldn’t have bit ya so deep.” Reno bought his hand up, rubbing gently along Cloud’s marred skin, feeling guilty over the pain it must have caused his lover. And there would be more pain yet, in spite of all good intentions. The thought was almost crippling.

Reno leaned back a bit, cupping Cloud’s chin so he could look into his eyes.  
“Cloud…” he began, not sure how to say what he must. He took a deep breath and tried again. “Baby, I’m gonna fuck this up, I know it. I ain’t never had nothin’ like this before…like _you_ before. I know I’m gonna hurt ya. I won’t _mean_ to, but I will…can ya do this, can ya be with me anyway, knowin’ it might happen? And when it does...well, I'd hope ya might be willin’ to forgive me, even though ya ain't got reason to trust.”

When Cloud didn’t immediately answer, instead stiffening in his arms, Reno hurried to soothe him, drawing him close again. “Listen to me, borrowin’ trouble. Didn’t mean to scare ya, baby…just wanted ya to know…” Here Reno paused, knowing he was completely out of his element. He decided to switch tactics. There was a reason Reno had always kept himself walled off from the world, but Cloud deserved better if they were ever to make it work between them. Reno’s voice softened to a murmur, asking a question that just wouldn’t leave him alone. If Reno could get a handle on what he was dealing with, if he could get Cloud to just _talk_ to him, maybe they’d be able to get the hardest stuff out of the way before it had time to cause damage. 

“Ya wanna tell me what’s goin’ on, Blondie? Ya been strange for the last few days.” Reno knew that by telling Cloud this much, the swordsman was going to be quick to realize Reno had been essentially stalking him, but finding out _why_ Cloud seemed more on edge than usual was more important. Then there was that strange shapeshifting thing he’d done. For an instant, he’d held not Cloud in his arms, but _Zack_. 

If Reno hadn’t seen what Kadaj could do, it might have weirded him out, but then again, there was the thing of the blond and those years he’d been at Hojo’s mercy. As crazy as the scientist had been, Reno wouldn’t have been surprised at anything the demented fucker had done. Besides, the solid sleep he’d gotten the night before had restored his equilibrium, and what Reno privately termed his ‘Turk sense’ made him certain that what he’d seen and felt was no hallucination. 

Reno felt Cloud tense again as soon as he asked the question, but refused to let go. If trust was to be built between them, it had to start somewhere. _Yeah, and you’re a real hypocrite for that one, asshole,_ Reno told himself, _when you’re hidin’ things yourself._


	9. Chapter 9

Blood Bond Chapter 9

 

It wasn't something he thought anyone would notice. Certainly not something he thought he'd be called on. Not so soon. Cloud tensed in Reno's embrace, wanting to flee and fighting the instinct to do so.

He'd be fleeing safety if he did, even though right now his gut was trying to tell him that this wasn't safe. Panic was setting in and Cloud trembled as he fought it down. "Nothing," he whispered, forcing the word out, knowing he had to say something eventually. "Just haven't felt well..." He knew he couldn't lie to Reno, but he wasn't sure he could explain it; he didn't fully understand what was happening himself yet. "When you-" Cloud took a breath, unsteady.  
"When you came in. My window... I needed that. I needed the rush. The pain. The release. I needed all of it. It felt so... just, _right._ " He pushed his forehead against Reno's shoulder. "I won't let you ruin this, Reno. I need you now. I won't let it go, but... I haven't been with anyone like this in a long time. I don't trust that easily." He raised his head to look at Reno again. "Please,  
understand."

“Cloud…” Reno drew back far enough to cradle the blond’s face between his slender hands. “Ya don’t hafta explain what ya need to a Turk. We’ve done all kinds of shit, just to remind ourselves we’re still alive. Ya ain’t alone no more, baby…ya ain’t gotta do it by yourself. I ain’t goin’ nowhere unless ya want me to.” Here Reno paused, bringing his lips down to capture Cloud’s deeply, giving him the dominance he knew the other craved. He wrote his claim there; in no uncertain terms, almost bruising Cloud’s mouth. They only broke for needed breath. “But ya better not be lookin’ anywhere else to get it, Blondie,” he said against Cloud’s lips, as soon as he’d recovered enough to speak. “Remember what I told ya about Turks and sharin?” 

Drawing back again far enough for Cloud to meet his eyes and see the full meaning of what he’d said, Reno continued. “It goes both ways, baby. Ya ain’t gotta worry about _me_ lookin’ nowhere else, either. I got everything I need, right here. If I gotta tell ya ten times a day, _every_ day, I will…until ya can believe it. And whatever problem ya got, we work on it _together._ ” Reno paused again, taking a deep breath. Words were hard for him when they were important, when they revealed too much… but he owed Cloud this. Then Reno told him about the dream he’d had, and what he’d seen so shortly before.

 

Cloud's tension nearly instantly melted as Reno revealed what he had dreamt, what he had seen. Relief replaced his tension and Cloud clung to Reno to center himself. "His memory is so strong sometimes. It’s like it was back then... I can feel myself slip and become lost, and I'm..." Cloud looked at Reno, worry furrowing his brows. "I'm sorry it happened with you. I can't control it. I don't know why it happens."

There was a fear that he'd lose himself again. Forget who he was and become lost in another life. He was desperately trying to hold on to Cloud, but there were times he wasn't sure where he ended and that thing inside him began. That thing wasn't Zack, it was just his memory of Zack. It _couldn't_ be Zack, could it? Cloud had to believe it wasn't, if he let himself think otherwise he'd lose all sense of  
reality and slip into insanity for sure.

"This," Cloud touched the scar on Reno's marked hand. "And you, are the first sliver of hope I have been given." Perhaps he had tried to find that hope in other men, but he wasn't going to be looking anymore now that he had Reno.

Reno pulled Cloud close, just holding him as he thought about what the blond had said. His slender hand traveled Cloud’s silken skin from the nape of his neck to the small of his back, up and down, soothing. Something Tseng had told him long before tried to surface; something about what he’d seen in the notes Hojo left behind in his Midgar lab. Tseng had spent months poring over the almost incomprehensible data before sharing his findings, such as they were. What had it been? Reno remembered asking Tseng if he could translate what he’d read into plain language. He remembered laughing at the look on Tseng’s face.

 _“I believe I just did, Reno. Would you care to take a look at the original?”_ The memory of the day itself faded over time, but that one comment from the Wutaian served to cement the gist of what was said. Ah. He had it. 

_Cellular Memory, and how the body retained memory of everything that it had ever suffered_ …well. That would explain a lot of things. If the Jenova cells could cause Kadaj to shift…and Mako made it worse…   
There was something important here, if Reno could only make the connection. Sephiroth…Zack…Cloud. All subjected to extreme exposure to mako, all carrying Jenova cells. Reno chased the thought another moment before huffing in frustration. There was more to it, he knew. _Damn, if he could only remember!_   
Suddenly, Reno straightened, almost dislodging Cloud from his hold. 

“Cloud, we need to talk to Tseng.”

Cloud stared at Reno for a moment, and when he realized his lover was serious, he shook his head firmly. "I can't." He slowly got to his feet, feeling the cool air in the church touch his bare flesh. Any other place and he would have shivered, but here the cool air was always soothing. "I have to get to some clients. Deliveries."

Gathering his scattered clothes, Cloud slowly dressed; willing his limbs to move faster but he was tense and nervous now. Once the second boot was on, he turned to Reno and then looked out at the flower garden. "Not now, okay?" He couldn't explain his hesitancy; he didn't fully understand it himself.

Reno huffed in frustration as he watched Cloud preparing to leave. It was true that they both had other places to be, and for Reno himself, it was time to face the music- Turk style. Reno wasn’t sure he was ready, but knew it would be inevitable; he didn’t have the same luxury as Cloud, putting the decision off for another day. 

That in itself was rather telling. Cloud neither liked nor trusted those Reno worked for, but neither had he ever backed down from a confrontation. It was almost as if…suddenly, several things became a lot clearer. It wasn’t a question of Cloud losing _himself._ It was the thought of possibly having to let go.

“Cloud…ain’t nobody gonna try to take Zack away from ya, okay?” What Reno _didn’t_ say was that he wouldn’t allow it, even if they tried. For this, Reno would face down Rufus himself. The blond was _his_ to protect now; Tseng would understand Reno’s reasoning even if he had reservations. Reno knew there would be no point in trying to hide his relationship with Cloud, not that he would even consider it. Hells, Tseng probably already knew, in that uncanny way of his. Still, Reno made no move to dress himself, but remained sitting on the bedroll in the same position where Cloud had left him. 

Cloud sat next to Reno and regarded the flower bed as it began to bloom in the waking sunlight. He was terrified. How fast it had happened with Reno, and how well the man knew him, probably better than he knew himself. "I don't like what Hojo did to me... but I was so young. I don't _know_ any other me. This is how it's always been." Maybe recently it had been growing worse, but he didn't know who to trust to fix it, or if he even wanted it fixed.  
"Will I see you tonight?" Cloud looked at his lover, eyes worried and anxious.

Reno hurried to reassure Cloud, turning to pull him close again. "Of course ya will baby, unless Tseng has some stakeout thing or other for me. Even if he does, I'll call ya first." Reno paused, then tapped Cloud's nose teasingly, trying to draw the blond from his darkening mood. Reno hated to see a frown on that beautiful face. It was one of the main reasons he'd always acted as he had in the blond's presence. "For the rest of it, hells, Cloud! You're one of the _sanest_ people I've ever known. So what if ya don't talk much? Ya _still_ got Rude beat! Not everybody runs off at the mouth like I do, yo." Reno winked and grinned before leaning in for a firm kiss. When they parted for air, Reno murmured, "Smile for me, baby?"

Cloud couldn't deny Reno that and he smiled, unsure at first, but then it reached his eyes. Reno made him feel happy and safe and how could he not smile about that? "I could stay here all day with you," Cloud said softly, and ran a hand up Reno's bare arm to his neck. He leaned in, wrapping his arms around Reno and nuzzling into his shoulder with a gentle kiss to his neck. "You're the only one who's seen me do that... it _would_ be that I couldn't hide it from you." Pulling back, he kissed Reno again, submitting but demanding, and bordering on begging. When they parted, Cloud’s face was flush and his lips dark. "I have to go," Cloud sighed, but he had a hard time tearing his arms from Reno.

“I know,” Reno replied. “Tseng’s gonna have my ass in a sling if I don’t get a move on, too.” One last kiss between them and Cloud rose to his feet with obvious reluctance. Reno glanced down at his lap, then back up again, grinning. “See what ya done to me, baby? Gonna make ya take care of that tonight.” Then a sudden idea struck. “Maybe even sooner, if I get a break. I’ll call ya…better be prepared to pull over somewhere, because the conversation’s gonna get real interestin’ real quick…” Reno waggled his eyebrows suggestively, winning a startled chuckle and another blush from Cloud. Satisfied that Cloud’s day would begin on a good note even if his own might be going downhill fast once he’d left the church, Reno reached for his clothes. If he happened to put on a bit of a show while getting dressed, who could blame him? He loved the way Cloud’s eyes traveled his body, and couldn’t have asked for a better audience. 

Cloud watched Reno dress with a slight upturn to the corners of his lips. When his lover finished, Cloud put away their bed roll and took up the forgotten bottle of wine and tucked it into a safe place under the bedroll. Then he took Reno's hand and walked his lover out to their bikes. "I'll be waiting," he said softly with a kiss. He was reluctant to go to work, but it was already getting late in the morning  
and clients were waiting on him.

On Fenrir, he waited for Reno to lead the way and followed him from their little church until he had to detour away from the ruins and the city for his first client. His morning was fast paced as he caught up on a short backlog of deliveries and he tried to keep his mind off things that might slow the day down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, you incredibly patient folks, for not getting down on my case when its obvious there was a chapter missing in the chronological order. Not sure what will happen when I post the missing one (actual chapter 9) but we shall see.


	10. Chapter 10

When his day did slow down, Cloud naturally began to think about Reno. And of their last exchanged words. After stopping for a quick bite, he also wandered into Puss n Boots Adult Toys and browsed the dildos. Had someone told him last night he'd be shopping for adult entertainment the next day, Cloud would have put their lights out and yet here he was, sizing up the toys until he found one that resembled Reno's amazing cock closely enough. Purchasing some lube and cleaner along with it, Cloud tucked the maroon colored gift bag under his arm and walked back to Fenrir.

Reno ran through an entire litany of reassurances to himself after he and Cloud parted company. Cloud may not have noticed the shadowy presence so close to his haven, but Reno was too used to sensing a partner's location in very ugly situations. That this particular presence was benign didn't erase the knowledge of Rude stepping back into the shadows across the street. Reno had made a show of flipping his ponytail back over his shoulder as he and Cloud exchanged their parting kiss, a signal to his partner indicating 'all's well'.

 _So. Tseng was having him watched. It wouldn't be the first time, nor probably the last._ Thinking back, Reno could well see how erratic his behavior had been over the last few weeks, even for someone as notoriously freewheeling as himself. Still, some part of him appreciated their concern, even if his personal life was really none of their business. 

Being essentially AWOL _was._ Tseng would not accept the intrusion of Reno's personal concerns as valid excuse for being late; he'd worn that one out long ago. That the necessity of his superior's scrutiny occurred after the death of a certain former lover and had since become habit, _was_ valid. Back then, Reno had literally not cared if he lived or died.

Chasing these thoughts endlessly occupied his mind on the trip and kept him distracted, but now he had arrived and it was time to face the music. He would think about motives and implications later. For now, there was Tseng.

As many times as he'd met that dark, penetrating gaze through the years, it still had the power to make Reno want to babble every misdeed he'd ever committed.  
Instead, he waited; determined to make the Wutaian man speak first and reveal the ground on which they would fight, if it came to that.

Tseng's dark eyes flicked unerringly to the redhead's hands. "Gloves, Reno?" 

He'd been prepared for this and shrugged negligently. "Yeah, just felt like it. Why?"

Quick as a striking zolom, Tseng moved from beside his desk and grasped Reno's injured hand in an iron grip. In spite of himself, Reno cried out.

"So. There is a reason after all," Tseng replied implacably. "Why do you feel it necessary to lie to me, Reno? Have I ever dealt with you unjustly? Now…remove them."

Knowing there was no other recourse, he did; revealing the clearly identifiable, half-healed imprint of Cloud's teeth. Reno blushed, ducking his head. How did Tseng always manage to make him feel like an erring child?

"Look, Tseng…I can explain…"

"I do not believe an explanation is necessary," Tseng replied curtly, cutting him off. "Rather, I assume that somewhere upon Cloud Strife's body, he bears a corresponding mark?"

Reno merely nodded. At least the worst part of it, the confession, was over. 

Tseng moved away, walking back to his desk. He didn't turn, but rather spoke over his shoulder.

"I do not believe you would have done such a thing lightly; being aware of its import."

Reno answered as respect dictated. "No, sir. The marks framing his eyes seemed to sting, reminding him of another night, another bond. His first loyalty might lie with this man and Rude, but his and Cloud's blood bond had the power to transcend even that; and Tseng knew it.

The silence stretched painfully before the Wutaian continued, at last turning to face him. "He is worthy," was all he said.

"Yeah," Reno replied, relieved that his and Cloud's association had met with Tseng's approval; though in truth, that approval was not needed. "He is," Reno replied proudly. 

"I assume his position regarding ShinRa itself remains unchanged?"

Reno nodded an affirmative; he'd expected this question, also. But not what came after.

"Then I devoutly hope your loyalties are never called into question," Tseng replied levelly, though there was sincerity in his tone. "I will not bring the subject of your tardiness into question at this time; I trust it shall not happen again. Meanwhile, you are dismissed." 

"No sir," Reno replied, only partially relieved. "Thank you, sir," He'd been right. His mind spun, cried out to his lover as he departed Tseng's office, repeating the same question he'd asked himself since that first night. 

_Cloud, what have I done to us?_

Pacing his office did nothing to settle Reno's mind; neither had attempting useless busywork. If Tseng meant to rattle him, it had worked; there was very little which had the ability to do so. Reno had been a Turk too long, had seen too much.

At last he turned to his computer, calling up the files he remembered from the day long before where Tseng had made an attempt to explain Hojo's theories.  
His eyes narrowed in concentration as he made himself read the section that kept nudging at his memory. It took three times of reading it through, but Reno thought he might finally have the gist of it.

_Subjects show indication of latent telepathic abilities beyond normal parameters as indicated by introduction of J cells. Under induced hypnotic state both specimens display anomalous genetic awareness; i.e. memories for which there are no corresponding values imprinted upon neural pathways. Specimen C especially displays qualities and corresponding neural recognition of geographical areas and events for which there is no prior physical or mental correlation. Specimen Z, subjected to identical conditions and controlled analysis displays similar patterns; though to a markedly lesser degree of percentage. It is my hypothesis that the specimens are..._

The rest of the report was missing; but Reno felt the cold chill of knowing that Hojo's lab notes regarding specimens 'C' and 'Z' could not possibly be referring to anyone other than Cloud and Zack. As if in confirmation, the partial document was dated only two days before the report of the fugitives' disappearance from Nibelheim. The memory of that time nagged at him; Cloud had been essentially catatonic by then... _hadn't he? Yet he'd walked away from that bluff where Zack died..._ Reno abruptly halted his train of thought; he would not revisit that day willingly. 

A part of him wished he _could_ talk to Tseng, but until Cloud was willing...Reno deliberately refused the temptation of going behind his lover's back with his questions. Cloud trusted him; and he just wasn't willing to break that trust for a little information that may or may not provide answers to what Cloud had experienced.  
As he'd assured Cloud, whatever happened, they would face it together; and Reno meant to _keep_ that promise. 

Frustrated, Reno shut the computer down. Suddenly he just needed to talk to Cloud, and not only to regain his perspective. 

Despite having promised himself he'd wait until he could be reasonably sure Cloud had finished most of the day's schedule, Reno couldn't prevent his fingers from dialing Cloud's number at first opportunity. He knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate again until he did.

Reno was almost vibrating with tension before Cloud answered, but was determined that it not bleed over into his voice. "Hey baby…Ya miss me?"

When his phone rang, Cloud barely heard it over the roar of Fenrir. And he'd never have felt the vibration in his pocket as his pants shifted in the wind from riding at breakneck speeds. However, he had been anticipating the call and had been keeping his ears trained for the familiar ring all day as he went through deliveries. Whenever Tifa called in a new client he'd hoped to see Reno's name on his phone's screen.

Tifa could hear the disappointment in Cloud's voice every time she called and she was at her wit's end trying not to reveal that she knew what had happened to her friend in any way. She was happy for him, but also nervous that this Turk would break his heart.

Expecting it to be Tifa again, Cloud pulled Fenrir to a stop on the outskirts of some ruins before he answered. The name on his phone's screen made his heart leap into his throat. 

"Hi... Reno..." he replied with a nervous breath. Hearing Reno made him feel like he had never felt before, an indescribable feeling in his chest and groin. "I haven't stopped thinking about you." He thought about what lay inside Fenrir's compartment inside discreet packaging. He hesitated before asking, "Are you alone?"

Everything else on Reno's mind fell away at the sound of that voice, and he felt almost faint with relief. "I can be, in a fuckin' short minute," he replied, practically diving across the room to lock his office door. Just for insurance, he flipped off the lights and made sure the blinds were completely closed. Even though no one would have actually seen him leave, for all practical purposes it appeared so.

Dropping back into his desk chair, Reno practically purred, focusing his attention entirely upon the man at the other end of the line.  
"Now…whatcha got on your mind, baby? As if I didn't know…" The hand not holding the phone was already loosening his clothing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience! I had literally not realized the original Chapter 9 had been omitted (restored now) so here's an extra chapter to make up for it. Thanks again!

Blood Bond Chapter 11

 

"Maybe you know part of it," Cloud breathed. He pushed Fenrir's kickstand into place and as he dismounted, then fetched the bag he had stored in the back. "I bought something today. It reminded me of you." Cloud walked up to one of the abandoned buildings nearby, scoping it's interior before he stepped inside. It seemed to be a warehouse of some sort, and he spied an office up some stairs. That would be where someone who had made this a home would camp out at night and Cloud had no interest in scaring away a hobo. Instead he found the old janitor's closet along the far wall and made for it.

"Can you guess what it is, or should I give you some hints?" Cloud closed the door behind him and let his eyes adjust to the dark as he set his phone on speaker and laid it on a shelf so he could clean his new toy before use. His voice was dripping with anticipation as he cleaned it, imagining it was Reno instead. "It's hard, and long, and bigger than most might tolerate." He moved on to the lube, stroking the dildo as he wanted to stroke Reno. "And while you tell me what you're doing to my body on the phone, it will almost feel like you're really here." Cloud undid his pants and leaned against the wall, his toy within reach on the shelf. "What are you doing right now?"

“Right now I’m busy bein’ real pissed 'cause ya went shoppin’ without me, baby.” Reno said, knowing Cloud would hear the laughter in his voice. “I hope you’re ready to pay the consequences,” he purred, freeing himself from his pants before reaching into his jacket pocket for a pack of lube. He was so hot just thinking about where Cloud was and what he’d bought that the cool gel against his heated cock made him hiss before he began stroking himself slowly. “Ya close those pretty eyes, baby…and think about my cock in your hand. I’m wantin’ ya bad, Cloud, so I'm gonna get ya slicked up real good.” Wanna know what you're feelin' baby, sliding down down your cock with one hand, spreadin' ya with the other, movin' back. My fingers just like ya like 'em...fuck, you're so sweet and hot... _burn_ me, baby..." Reno forced his hand to slow its motion, holding the phone close to hear every sound Cloud made.

Pants around his ankles, Cloud reached back and eased a slick finger inside himself. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Ooh," he felt on fire just from Reno's voice. "Oh yeah, nnh... I'm so tight and hot around your fingers." He added a second finger and thrust them inside as deep as he could. "Nng! I love your fingers inside me. Your throbbing cock in my hand is so hot and hard and I rub it up and down, I'm so hungry for it to be inside me." He whined and gasped, pushing in a third finger.

"How are you going to do me, baby? Bend me over and ride me hard, fucking me until I scream surrender? Or do you want me to ride you, pleasuring myself as I slowly rise and fall up and down your god-like cock?" Cloud was slicked and quivering in need so he removed his fingers and stepped out of his pants to grab the dildo, stroking it as he would Reno as he moved two feet over to the desk. "I'm aching for you, I've never needed your cock so bad." Holding the base of the dildo on the edge of the desk behind him he lined it up and teased his puckered entrance as he whined and whimpered. "Please. Inside..."

“Gods- _damn_ , baby! Ya gonna make me come before I can get in ya!” Reno squeezed hard at the base of his cock and gritted his teeth. What _was_ it with Cloud and his power to turn him inside-out? Panting, Reno spoke shakily. “Ya better get that sweet ass in the air and spread ‘em wide for me Cloud, cause ya gonna get it hard...now!” He groaned, imagining the look on his lover’s face, the way his eyes fluttered shut, how his back arched. “Got my cock buried in ya, pullin’ back, ridin’ hard…got my hand wrapped around ya baby, gonna make ya come like ya ain’t never before…” Reno’s own hand was busy, pumping himself hard, imagining himself balls deep in Cloud’s scorching heat.

Riding the dildo hard, every back thrust impaling himself harder and harder onto it sent the desk pounding against the wall. "Yeah... oh yeah," Cloud moaned. "Oh gods, make me come so hard," he gripped his cock with his other hand and stroked himself hard to the sounds coming from his phone on the shelf. "Fucking me good, you feel so good inside me, Reno..." he was panting for breath, words forced out between gasping breaths and moans. Cloud was so close, but he never wanted this to end as he began to soar, his cock slick with precum.

"G-gonna... gods, yes, yes... aahn!" it hit him like a wall, his essence arching across the room and coating the floor near the door. He continued to ride and stroke, the desk thumping the wall erratically now as Cloud sought out the best angles on the dildo to finish hard and high. His cries rang out, nearly echoing in the small room.

Reno had only a split second to worry if Cloud was somewhere safe and private before his lover’s cries overrode every other thought. He could almost feel his lover’s skin under his hands, his scent upon the office air, the taste of him upon his tongue. The hand Cloud had bitten throbbed where Reno jerked at his own flesh, feeling it as if it truly was Cloud’s cock he held, rather than his own. “Oh gods, baby…I’m coming…gonna fill ya hard and deep! Give it to me, Cloud…and then I’m gonna lick ya clean…”

Gasping for every breath, it was everything Reno could do just to stay conscious, listening to the uninhibited cries through his PHS and he almost dropped it when Cloud’s wail of completion dragged his own orgasm from him as surely as if he had indeed been encased within the blond’s velvet heat. Reno stifled his own ragged gasp as best he could, knowing full well he could be heard from the hallway if he wasn’t careful. He heard Cloud's shuddering breath on the other end of the line, coming down from his own high, wishing he could be with him in the afterglow. Unwilling to wait for the day to end and not wanting to be anywhere near Tseng until he could bring order to everything in his own mind, Reno hurriedly cleaned himself up with some tissues and straightened his clothing. "Hope you'll be home soon, Cloud...I'm on my way there now."

Cloud nodded then remembered he was alone and his voice was ragged when he answered: "I'm going home now." He whimpered as he removed the dildo. He couldn't think straight, he wanted Reno and it was all he could think about. Hearing him wasn't enough. Cloud couldn't remember if he had any more deliveries, but right now it didn't matter to him at all. He quickly cleaned the dildo and replaced it in its packaging after he pulled his pants back on.

Picking the phone up as he opened the door to leave, Cloud pressed it to his ear. "I'll be home soon," he flipped the cell closed and then caught movement from the corner of his eye. Instantly his defenses were on alert, a surge of adrenaline cascading through his veins as he pivoted to confront the cowering creature. It was just a mongrel, but what the creature saw would have sent any man running away in blind terror as Cloud's eyes and hair changed color.

At Fenrir, Cloud stored the package again and straddled his bike; his hair and eyes fading back to their natural colors, but Cloud knew what had happened. He had been in denial about it for so long, but Reno had made him face the music and now Cloud could no longer deny what was happening to him. It frightened him that he might lose himself again.

When he arrived at the church, he was lost in thought and memory.


	12. Chapter 12

Reno was already at the church when Cloud arrived. He’d forced himself to stillness just to keep from pacing and was currently sitting cross-legged beside the pool, carefully avoiding damaging the flowers growing along its edge. Staring into the placid water and breathing deeply of the flowers’ scent had helped clear Reno’s mind a little. 

There was something about the pool which always seemed to call to him; he’d felt it every time he entered the old church. If he sat there long enough he reasoned, maybe the answer would come. Reno wondered how the water tasted…or what would happen if he tried to drink it. Reno found himself reaching to dip his hand there when the sound of the door opening caught his attention. He drew back, sighing out the last of his worry. Cloud was home.

But when his lover joined him, Reno immediately knew something was wrong; Cloud looked like he was about to jitter out of his skin. He extended one hand and shifted position in order to pull his lover down into his lap, kissing first his forehead and along each cheekbone before capturing his lips. Reno drew Cloud as close into his embrace as he possibly could, nuzzling into the blonde spikes. Content to just hold him, Reno waited for Cloud to speak. When he felt the tension begin to bleed out of the blond’s limbs and his lover’s breathing slowed to match his own, Reno spoke a quiet question into the shell of his ear. “What happened, baby?”

"Until this morning, I liked to pretend that it wasn't happening. But... now that I'm with you," Cloud paused; it sounded so right and yet also so surreal. He was _with_ someone, and he’d never thought that would happen to him again. "I can't ignore it. I'm afraid it might hurt someone now." 

Cloud related coming out of the janitor's closet and the sudden changes he’d felt come over him. Cloud didn't mention how he had almost killed the dog. That wasn't the Zack he knew, though it didn't occur to him that Zack would kill to protect him.

Cloud couldn't say it, couldn't promise that he would speak to Tseng, but he also desperately wanted help. Taking his eyes off the serene scene in the church, he looked at Reno anxiously.

Reno brought his hands up to cup Cloud’s face, looking earnestly into his eyes so the other would have no doubt he was speaking the truth. “Cloud…ya gotta get used to the idea ya ain’t alone in this anymore.” Reno released a huffed breath, gathering his thoughts into order. His thumbs gently traced underneath worried blue eyes in an attempt to soothe his lover. “Think about it, baby…this is _Zack_ you’re talkin’ about. When did ya ever know him to hurt anybody deliberately, unless he was forced into it? I know it hurts to think about what happened, but can ya really see him doing what he did any other way? He loved ya, Cloud…and that meant he’d do anything to protect ya…” 

Here Reno paused, gathering Cloud close again, tucking the blond head under his chin. “…same as I do, and same as I would.” Reno took another deep breath and released it, wondering when, if ever, the time would be right to tell Cloud that he and Zack had once been lovers also. Reno had buried that pain deep, still carrying the guilt of not being able to save him that terrible day outside Midgar.

“Look at it like this…if ya ain’t hurt anybody yet, ya ain’t gonna. With everything ya been through, it _would_ have happened by now…I ain’t countin’ defending yourself,” Reno added hurriedly as he felt Cloud stiffen in protest. “As for me, I ain’t ever been afraid of either of ya, and I can’t see changin’ my mind about that.” 

Cloud hadn't had someone to lean on in so long but it didn't take much of it to admit that he wanted it, even needed and desired it. Still, he wasn't used to it, and he couldn't remember how it was supposed to work. In his heart he knew that his lover had to need someone to lean on, but he hadn't brought anything up for reasons Cloud didn't know- to be Cloud's rock? Wrapping his arms around Reno he felt like he was clinging to a buoy and waiting for the storm to abate.

"You said we needed to talk to Tseng about this," Cloud stiffened again at the mere thought. "What could _he_ do that would make it any better?" Cloud suddenly remembered something, a brief look on Reno's face this morning that had come and gone before Cloud could pay it much attention. Now, it only made him angry and jealous and guilty and he pushed Reno back to look at him. "I don't want this coming between us in any way... I don't want you seeing _him_ when you're loving _me_ , Reno."

Reno blinked in astonishment. _How had Cloud thought…?_ He pulled the other close again, holding his lover tightly even though he fought against it. “ _No_ , baby…it ain’t that at all! I just wasn’t expectin’ it…what happened this morning just threw me, okay? I saw what happened with Sephiroth and Kadaj, yeah…but I wasn’t expectin’ it from _you_. All I meant was that Zack ain’t nothin’ like those two fuckin’ maniacs and ain’t nothin’ to be afraid of.” He paused, feeling his lover relax a little, knowing he’d have to choose carefully when to tell Cloud about his past relationship with Zack. 

Privately, Reno admitted missing that strength; how Zack had always kept him from walking too close to the edge. But then something about what Cloud had just said struck him hard. Could it be Cloud already _knew_ about them? He decided to let Cloud broach the subject, if and when he was even able to do so. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and changed the subject.

“Tseng loves it here, y’know? All those years he looked after Aerith, stallin’ Hojo and the like…but he won’t intrude. Not unless ya ask him. He won’t walk uninvited into your home... _our_ home,” Reno clarified, feeling his lover’s instinctive rejection of the thought. “If ya wanna talk to him…fuck, baby...we _need_ to talk to him, let him know where we stand, at least. Get some answers. He saw my hand this mornin’.”

"He knows about us, then..." Cloud wasn't surprised; Reno’s boss was sharp and difficult to fool. He mulled over what Reno said about Tseng and took a deep breath. "If you think he knows something that might help us- I'll see him for you." Cloud still didn't know how he felt about the possibility of Zack being inside him somewhere. The little moments of transformation were frightening enough from their suddenness alone. But what Reno said made sense to him and gave him some reprieve from the emotions surrounding the strangeness of what was happening to him.

Resting his head on Reno's shoulder, Cloud sighed. "It was shocking, soon after our phone call and with thoughts of just being in your arms again, to suddenly feel him there like that."

“Yeah...it had to be,” Reno replied quietly, petting Cloud’s hair and trying to imagine the shock of what he’d experienced. “...and yeah, Tseng knows. I _hope_ he knows better than to push me about it, too.” Reno added, deadly serious. “But I think he can. I hope he will, just because Tseng knows what Vincent did for him when Sephiroth skewered him wasn’t somethin’ he did because he used to be a Turk. What goes around, baby…” Then something about what Cloud said made him wonder just how aware Cloud was when the ‘shifts’ took place.

“Cloud…when it happens, how does it feel? I mean, can ya tell how long they last? The one this mornin’ wasn’t but a couple of seconds…but _twice in one day?_ And if ya count that dream I had…” Reno trailed off. “What if he’s tryin’ to tell ya somethin’? Shit…if I understand things right, the planet talks to people, like what happened when Aerith stopped Meteor.” Reno huffed in frustration, trying to make the connection with what he’d read and what Cloud had experienced. “What if we just can’t hear ‘em? I ain’t sayin’ its somethin’ _bad_ ,” Reno hurried to assure Cloud, “cause what Zack said to me…when he said ya needed me….I mean, I’d like to think it was _him_ sayin’ it, and not just me wishful thinkin’.”

It was hard for Reno to reveal so much of himself, to admit the thought of someone like Cloud needing _him_ of all people, was capable of crushing Reno if it wasn’t true. But even just this much, with Cloud solid and real in his arms was more than he knew he ever deserved. Reno also knew he wouldn’t have traded being here for all the wealth of ShinRa at the height of its power.

"He's right... I _do_ need you," Cloud admitted soberly. "I didn't realize how much until today." Sighing, he leaned into Reno. "I'm not sure. It happens so fast. I don't recall much from this morning at all, but this afternoon with the dog I do get bits and pieces. If he's trying to tell me something, it might take awhile for it to get through. I know you'll help me figure this out," Cloud pulled back to look at his lover again, caressing Reno’s face and running his thumb over one of the red marks. "I wish we could go back and start again; things might have turned out differently for everyone." Leaning in, Cloud kissed Reno; parting his lips and submitting to the other man.

What could Reno say to that? It was something he’d never allowed himself to even think about, the pain ran too deep. Reno had loved Zack, but never told him... and when Cloud came into the picture, things had changed. Cloud was vulnerable then, had needed _everything_ Zack represented- had needed Zack for himself…and then there was simply no time to think about how it could have been. The world went to hell sans handbasket and they had no choice in anything anymore. Cloud lived…and Zack…Zack was supposed to be in the Lifestream. But _was_ he, truly?

Reno shuddered. What if Zack _wasn’t_ completely here with Cloud, or even fully Beyond, but trapped somewhere between? These troubled thoughts made Reno hold his lover closely, almost in desperation. When Cloud’s beloved face turned to him, betraying the sadness that forever shadowed his beautiful eyes, Reno kissed him with all the need and intensity of a drowning man reaching for a lifeline. Beyond them, a single, crystal drop of rain disturbed the surface of the pool, as if a tear fallen from the heavens.


	13. Chapter 13

Cloud reacted to the vulnerability he felt in his lover by wrapping his arms around him tightly, submitting to the intense and emotional kiss. When they surfaced briefly, he straddled and sat on Reno's thighs to face him; framing his face with both hands and kissing him deeply. While they kissed Cloud receded, unaware as he slipped into a trance-like state while his hair darkened and spikes changed and his eyes flashed violet. The transformation was so smooth that Cloud wasn't aware it happened, he wasn't exactly aware at all right now.

"Reno," a different, familiar voice breathed as Zack pressed their foreheads together. Zack stroked Reno's hair and neck, trying to soothe the turmoil he felt in Reno's body.

Reno couldn’t help his reaction. What he’d seen and heard over the last two days hit him hard and a single tear trailed slowly down his cheek. _“Zack?_ Tell me it’s really you,” he said shakily, almost choking, his throat was so tight. “...’cause I can’t stand it if it ain’t.” Even as he asked, he felt he was somehow betraying Cloud by hoping so desperately it was true.

“Yeah…I can understand why you’d think it wasn’t,” Zack murmured. “After what you’ve seen with Seph and the Remnants.”

“Ya know about all that?” Reno asked, in awe. He reached up tentatively, brushing back the favorite, stray lock of hair that never would stay with the rest. When it immediately fell forward across Zack’s face again, his heart skipped a beat. 

“’Course I do, Red…and before you ask, I’ve been here all along.”

Reno’s tears fell faster, his voice rough when he could speak again. “Where’s ‘here’, Zack? Tell me I didn’t stick ya someplace awful…I’m so sorry, Zack…I’m so sorry!” He clung tight to Zack’s First-class sweater, burying his face in the other’s chest. 

“Hey... why do you think I’m here?” Zack asked, combing his hand gently through Reno’s bright hair. “I sure didn’t show up to start blaming you for anything…I just wanted you to know you aren’t losing your mind and you really _did_ hear me, okay? Listen- I need you to tell Spikey someth-”

Reno clung, even as he felt the knitted material shift beneath his hands into Cloud’s familiar leathers.

Cloud's re-entrance into awareness was so smooth and flawless that he didn't take notice of the missing minutes in his life. Rubbing Reno's back and shoulders, he tried to soothe and comfort his lover. "Let it out," he whispered.

Stroking a hand through his lover's soft locks, he cradled Reno, trying to be the supportive strength for Reno as the Turk was becoming for him. "Tell me what's wrong..." he murmured. "I'm not going anywhere."

“Ya sure about that, baby?” Reno replied against Cloud’s chest, unable to meet his lover’s gaze. “’Cause ya just did it again.” Reno cried harder, silently, clenching his teeth against the sobs trying to escape, knowing how much he stood to lose. He felt his lover’s arms tighten around him, holding him and merely waiting as Reno tried desperately to figure out what to say. He finally settled on the simple truth; Cloud would respect his answer, even if he didn’t like it. 

“Zack was here,” he said, knowing by the blond’s response that he didn’t remember any of what had just happened. “He wanted me to tell ya somethin’ but didn’t stay long enough to say what it was.” Reno finally raised his tear-stained face to look deeply into beloved blue eyes, his breath hitching as he tried to get the words out, make himself understood. “He forgave me, baby…he forgave me! How could he do that, knowin’ I let him die and didn’t do _nothin’_ to stop it?” 

"You would have been killed, too." Cloud had been blissfully unaware of how much grief Reno had been carrying over Zack's death. How much guilt, specifically. It tore him to see Reno like this. "There was nothing anyone could do..." Cloud framed his lover's face with his hands. "It wasn't your fault, Red. He knows that. That's one thing I don't have to hear him say to know."

That Zack had come and gone and had even spoken to Reno confused Cloud. He couldn't remember a thing; the stolen minutes had passed like an eye blink for him. In the past he had been unable to differentiate his and Zack's lives. Now they seemed to be kept separate by a wall. Cloud wasn't aware that's how it had always been, but that the wall had holes.

Kissing the salty trail of tears, Cloud swallowed back his own grief. "He'll come back and finish what he needed to say... Reno... I don't want Tseng interfering. If we go to him, will he try to silence Zack?"

The answer Reno gave seemed unrelated to his lover’s question at first. “Y’know…Tseng made me see a therapist after it happened…he made some notes, called it ‘survivor’s guilt’.” Reno bowed his head onto Cloud’s shoulder, his forehead pressed against the bite mark he’d left there. “Pissed me off…because the educated fucker didn’t know what it was like to be there, didn’t know _shit_ about the person Zack was…didn’t know what I…what _we_ had lost. Nobody like that is gonna tell me what I should or shouldn’t feel.” Reno paused and took a deep, shuddering breath; made himself focus on the feel of Cloud’s arms around him. “Thirty seconds…all I needed was _Thirty. Fuckin’. More. Seconds_ …that’s a hell of a lot to forgive.” For the space of several moments, all Reno did was breathe. Then, as he’d endlessly questioned himself all day long, Reno made his decision. _Cloud_ was the important one here, what _he_ needed, how _he_ felt. “I ain’t gonna say nothin’ to Tseng yet, baby. Not unless Zack tells us its okay. I owe ya both that.”

Cloud was beginning to see that Reno and Zack had been much closer than he had known. He tightened his arms and kissed Reno's neck. "I didn't know you were so close to him too... I'm sorry... maybe he can shed some light on what to do later." Tilting Reno's chin up Cloud took his lips tenderly, kissing him deeply and slowly as he rubbed his shoulders and back. As they parted, foreheads leaning against each other he brought one hand around to Reno's chest, feeling his heartbeat there.

"Reno," his voice was breathy. "I want to be inside you..." Cloud didn't know _why_ he had this urge, he had very rarely topped during sex but suddenly he was overwhelmed to do something for Reno, to be inside him and comfort him and hear him cry out in pleasure. His confusion was overridden by the strong urge. Pushing Reno down onto the grass beside the pool, Cloud caressed his cheek and kissed him again, a little harder and deeper. 

Reno had no words to answer him. Somewhere through the booze and drug-soaked years his memories of Zack had become so entangled that Reno wondered how much of what they’d shared had been real, if any of it at all. Maybe someday Zack would tell him, but in a way, Reno wondered if he really wanted to know.

Reno wrenched himself back to the present, to the amazing man in his arms who deserved so much better from him. Something inside Reno began to give way at his lover’s touch, yield to the look in those blue eyes that was for him alone, finding the bone-deep tension he’d carried for years in a tight knot so familiar Reno often forgot it was even there. Reno’s head spun, ached with the kind of pressure that felt as if it was being squeezed without mercy between someone’s hands. 

Inwardly Reno laughed at himself, a bitter sound, also too familiar. It was the sound of failure, hidden too deep for too long. How had he thought himself strong enough to care for this man in his arms, to protect him? It was all built on a lie.  
Reno clung to Cloud’s touch as if it would be the last time, his thoughts a whirl of all the things he knew he shouldn’t be thinking, should have let go of long since.

And then what Cloud had said sunk in, his lover’s touch above Reno’s heart a reality, rather than something which seemed to be happening to someone else. All Reno knew was that he wanted, he _needed_ those deep, claiming kisses, needed for Cloud to do what he’d promised, needed to feel him inside as well as all around him. He couldn’t make his voice work to tell Cloud any of it, but when his lover guided him down, Reno went willingly.


	14. Chapter 14

Cloud could feel the vulnerability and need in his lover. The need to protect and comfort made his heart ache a different way, like it hadn't ached in a long time. Straddling Reno, he bent down and claimed him with a deep and bruising kiss, cupping the back of his lover’s neck with one hand.

It seemed to come from some deep rooted instinct, what to do to make Reno safe and drown his lover in passion. Cloud ran his hand from his lover’s neck to his shoulder as he lightly sucked and nipped at Reno's collar, nosing his shirt aside. Lowering his hips to press them against Reno's, Cloud made him arch up by running his hand up under the other’s back. "You feel so good," he whispered against his lover’s chest as he lowered the zipper and pushed the shirt open to run his tongue over a pert nipple. Cloud sat back to look at Reno as he opened his pants and pulled them down his thighs.

Taking the waking erection in his fist, he gave it a few slow strokes in a tight grip, his other hand flat on Reno's abdomen and running down to the bare hip and thigh. "Let me hear you, baby..."

“Ya keep doin’ that and they’re gonna hear me in Mideel,” Reno breathed, a bit of his former spark in the words. His hips arched into his lover’s touch; his eyes half-lidded. “Want your hands on me, want your mouth on me, want _you_ …” and he knew he did. Reno had never bottomed for anyone since the night he’d been with Tseng and Rude, initiated into the blood bond so many years before. The three of them were not lovers. Reno hadn’t been with them again since that night, but they had kept him from dying of his grief. Reno’s bond with Tseng and Rude was a matter of trust; of knowing they would always be there if he needed them.

This was different. This was something much, much deeper…This was _Cloud._ Reno felt those warm hands and lips traveling, became liquid beneath their touch. Just as he’d staked his claim on his lover, so Cloud was doing to him now; forging their bond with tendrils of steel soul-deep. Reno’s hand tingled where Cloud had bitten him; almost as if in response to his rapidly scattering thoughts. “Yes…” he hissed as Cloud drew a sensual path upon his skin. “all yours, baby…” Anything Cloud wanted, Reno would give him.

Cloud gradually undressed his lover while simultaneously tasting and sampling bits and patches of flesh with his mouth: biting here, suckling there, kissing and sometimes teasing. "Gods, you are beautiful," he moaned against Reno's bare thigh after sucking a mark into the flesh. Soothing it with his tongue, Cloud then sat up to strip off his own clothes.

"Don't move a muscle," Cloud breathed, getting up. He fetched their vial of lube and returned to kneel between his lover's spread legs. He coated a finger and smeared a generous amount between Reno's cheeks before he began to tease the puckered opening with his finger tip. "Open up for me, babe," Cloud whispered, and leaned down to catch Reno's mouth in a deep, slow kiss.

Reno wasn’t about to admit how badly shaken he’d been when Cloud moved the short distance away for the lube. But then his lover was back, warm against his skin, solidly there. When Cloud’s touch moved lower, preparing him, Reno forgot all else in simply feeling; his body opening of its own accord, naturally, easily, as if they’d done this many times before. Then Cloud’s fingers were seeking within even as those soft, firm lips seemed to demand his soul.

Reno hadn’t known Cloud would be so assertive, but then he remembered the night they’d first been together and how, even as his lover begged, he’d thought of Cloud as the warrior he was; knew that this passion was something banked within Cloud for years without release. “Take it all, baby,” Reno breathed. “Give me everything ya got…” Something within Reno needed to give over control, to know what would happen when he did. He ran his hands everywhere he could reach on Cloud’s skin, digging blunt nails in heedlessly, his mouth seeking purchase upon his lover’s damp skin, sliding away, his entire world contained within what Cloud was doing to him. And then Cloud’s fingers found what they’d sought and Reno lost all coherent thought.

Licking Reno's neck, Cloud could taste the sweet hint of sweat starting just below his lover's ear as he mercilessly teased Reno's sweet spot. He drank in Reno's reactions to being topped, the way he trusted Cloud to do this for him so easily humbled Cloud greatly. Reno was so innocent and beautiful when he gave up control; Cloud almost didn't recognize his lover when he pulled back to watch Reno’s face. Plunging his fingers a little deeper and harder and not relenting the teasing on his prostrate, he drove Reno to the edge and then stopped cold, withdrawing his fingers and gripping Reno's balls, lightly pulling them down from their tight upward climb.

"Not yet, Red," Cloud whispered and smiled; smoothing sweaty bangs away from Reno's forehead. Kissing him gently, he waited several long minutes to let his lover’s body calm down before he guided his aching cock to Reno's entrance. It felt like that tight heat sucked him inside, his cock enveloped in a velvet grip that took his breath away. Is this what Reno felt like every time they fucked or made love? Cloud groaned, buried deep and rendered speechless as he stared down at his lover.

In the scattered moments when he could catch his breath, Reno howled under Cloud’s assault. Nothing but his lover’s touch existed, the feel and scent of him, his solid presence. When Reno could force his eyes open, he found himself in a world of blue and gold and cream; and the look in those beautiful eyes was something he’d never dared hope to see gifted to him by anyone. Somewhere he’d heard of this; how when it happened it was a thing of the spirit as much as the body. Reno remembered laughing at such nonsense. 

Reno’s string of one night stands stretched back over years of emptiness; the encounters kept to single nights for a reason. Reno knew he was considered a trophy; everybody wanted to fuck a Turk and live to tell about it. Most of them had; but he’d done whatever it took to learn what he wanted to know, even from a target. None of the faceless bodies ever owned the smallest piece of his soul; Reno never gave them the chance. Nobody Reno had ever been with looked at him like this…or had they? _If this is real you’ll go away and there’s not enough left of me to start over…_ Reno dragged a heaving gasp of breath, felt himself pulled suddenly from the edge…and then it all began again beneath Cloud’s warm hands and mouth.

‘Need you…’ Reno managed, _thought_ he’d said…but he must have, because he could see and hear and Cloud’s rigid length was within him and the world went away again. Reno’s legs wrapped around Cloud’s waist, gripping as tightly as he was able as he began a high keening wail that echoed from the remains of ceiling and bare beams and would have made any passerby outside wonder if something was dying within. And then Reno thought he must be, because it was like two souls in one body, his within Cloud and Cloud more than above him. The broken places within Reno opened…the mark of Cloud’s teeth on his hand an electric current which spread everywhere, bringing light into hidden corners he’d thought would never heal.

Reno realized he was feeling things and seeing places he’d never been; wondering who they belonged to. Until Cloud’s hand worked beneath his head, he didn’t know he’d been thrashing from side to side, the tips of his hair soaked from where he’d flung it into the edge of Aerith’s pool. He finally forced his eyes open again and Cloud’s wide blue gaze was upon him with an expression Reno couldn’t interpret. Reno wanted to tell his lover it was alright, that he had never been _more_ right in his life, to ask him what he’d done to him, but he could only manage a single word. “Please….”

 

Cloud could plainly see that what he had felt that first night Reno had claimed him, was now being felt by Reno in turn. That intense need, and belonging, and fear of being left behind after having tasted this... it was written all over Reno's face. There was something else, too, that Cloud couldn't quite read.

When Reno spoke, the lone word was a spear to pierce Cloud's heart. "I'm here," he whispered. He angled his hips and drew back, never taking his eyes from his lover’s as he started off slow. Easing his hips back a few inches and then pushing in again, his breath stolen from him at the overwhelming emotions and sensations. "I'll always be right here," Cloud gasped and repeated the motions, a steady and slow rhythm taking over. "Oh gods, oh babe..." he moaned, leaning in to kiss Reno breathlessly.

Cloud’s slower pace brought Reno back to awareness of his surroundings, grounded him so that the things he’d seen faded into the edges of his consciousness, rather than overwhelming him. Once again, it was Cloud above him; looking at him with an infinite sadness before their lips met again and they became separate beings once more. Reno pushed away the sensation of looking down upon himself through Cloud’s eyes, but there was something important there, something he must remember to ask. For now, loving Cloud with everything he was, being loved in return was all that mattered. Cloud would not leave him as he had been before, alone and adrift. The words he’d spoken were a promise carved in stone; in life itself. 

Cloud moved within him, shallow and then deep again, languid almost, driving Reno to the edge with infinite skill and holding him there. How was it that whenever they began with such wild abandon, intent upon repeating the passionate, almost feral experience of their first night together that they instead seemed to flow together as water mingling? Was it this place, and the aura of something otherworldly that it exuded? 

Reno only knew that he would never be able to get enough of Cloud. His hands wandered desperately, seeking purchase on sweat-slick skin, his hips rising to meet his lover’s downward thrust, feeling that sweet mouth claiming his own in deep kisses, gentle bites that bruised his lips, making him want more. Reno felt Cloud’s hand slide between them, taking his cock into a warm, sword-roughened grip that matched his movement, driving him mad. The feel of Cloud’s hands upon him, their bodies joining were sensations that had already passed into addiction; as necessary as the air Reno breathed.


	15. Chapter 15

Blood Bond Chapter 15

 

Cloud didn't want it to end, this feeling of wholeness. Being with Reno as he had never been with anyone else. And yet he wanted more, needed it harder and faster. The strength and depth of his thrusts crept up the pace; slow, but harder and deeper as he gasped for breath against Reno's neck. _This_ is where he was, _what_ he was. Breathing and drinking Reno in as his soul soared.

He wasn't aware that Zack had returned and claimed control of his body, didn't hear the words or sounds Zack made.

"Reno..." Zack slowed the pacing again and lifted his head to look at Reno. After staring down into the infinite for a moment while he moved inside the other man, Zack kissed Reno tenderly. "I need you to tell Cloud something," he gasped, resting his forehead against Reno's. "Tell him to let me go, Red." Zack tasted Reno's lips again. "You, too. It's the only way he can move on," Zack shuddered and was suddenly gone, Cloud moaning loudly.

Cloud paused while buried deep in Reno to adjust his angle, seeking out the spot to drive Reno into the throes of passion. "Let me hear you," he groaned. Pulling back, he thrust in hard. Every thrust rubbing Reno's sweet spot.

_No! No, Zack I can’t...!_ Reno’s heart cried. _No, Zack…I can’t do that to him…_ but then it was Cloud in his arms again, and their gentler movements suddenly shifted to an almost brutal pace again. Between the shock of what Zack had said and what Cloud was doing to him, Reno’s entire body shuddered almost as if he was having a seizure. The iron-bound, long-neglected door of the past opened to a time when it had truly been Zack in his arms. Reno’s mind veered away, shut down, rejecting what he’d heard and seen. _Cloud_ …and then Cloud battered against his prostate one final time and Reno was blinded by the force of his orgasm, his body giving way to bliss even as his heart cried out in denial. Then Cloud was speaking to him in a voice Reno could not refuse. In passion, love and fear, Reno answered with a high, keening wail even as Cloud bowed over him, capturing his mouth and swallowing his desperate cries as Reno came hard, painting their sweat-slick skin with ribbons of white.

Losing himself inside Reno was unlike anything else Cloud had ever experienced. With his feral grunts and cries of ecstasy and Reno's mixed wails, it was no wonder anyone in the area didn't come to see what the noise was about or perhaps flee in terror. Had they come and spied on the joining of two souls, they surely would have been overcome with lust at the sight of them.

Lust wasn't on Cloud's mind at the moment. This _transcended_ lust. Kissing Reno and swallowing his cries, Cloud's thrusts were erratic as he followed his lover over the edge. Cloud’s orgasm was wrenched from him by the clamping heat of his lover's orgasm and Cloud buried his face in Reno's neck to muffle his screams. When he found himself drained, body trembling in aftershocks, Cloud raised his head and licked his hand clean of his lover's orgasm.

"Reno..." he whispered, brushing a damp lock of hair away from his  
lover's forehead. "Oh, Reno..."

 

The look on Cloud's face in that moment, the love in his eyes and voice and knowing what they'd both suffered to be here, to be together was what brought Reno back from that walk between realities. He'd waited years for this man, and damned if he was going to make any rash decisions, any mistakes where Cloud was concerned… not if Reno could avoid them.

This time was for _them,_ and Reno was determined not to let anything steal it. He reached up, brushing wisps of fine golden hair from his lover's eyes, trailed his hand down the alabaster curve of his cheek. Cloud was softening within him, but Reno wasn't willing to lose their connection, not yet.

Cloud's sultry expression, the vulnerability there, even the way he spoke Reno's name all buried themselves within Reno's soul. Even their surroundings seemed a part of their bond, and he gave a fleeting thought to Aerith. On impulse, he sent a thought to her. _Lady, find out what's going on with our SOLDIER boy, willya?_

Then Reno pulled Cloud down to him, catching the blond's lips in a possessive, almost fierce kiss. When they parted, Reno's voice held everything they'd just shared. "Love you babe," he said simply; hoping Cloud would understand, would hear the words that just seemed too much in that moment. All the world narrowed down to Cloud; his face, his body, the feel of him skin to skin and in his arms. Reno spared what had happened a final thought before shifting just enough to tuck Cloud under his chin and wrap his arms around his lover as closely as possible, settling into his warmth.

_Zack, whatever the hells you're up to, you can tell him yourself. Don't try to put it off on me._ Reno thought angrily. Still, the feeling of there being something _more_ beyond Zack's request ate at Reno, the look on the other’s face before Zack faded back into Cloud had been… _wrong,_ somehow. Reno sighed, knowing he wouldn't have any more answers until something else happened to provide them. Again Reno pushed it all away, concentrating upon his lover, breathing in the scent of him; simply loving him. Nothing else mattered.

Cloud sighed and let his body relax in Reno's embrace, turning his head to kiss Reno's neck and nuzzle his smooth, damp flesh a moment. Being with Reno was like being lost in space; he wasn't aware of anything other than how Reno made him feel. He moaned, feeling himself slip free of Reno's heat and reached up to caress his lover's cheek. How deep they had gone in such a short time and yet Cloud knew they would go deeper, burn hotter than anything else, and never cease. Cloud’s shoulder throbbed where Reno had marked him, throbbed like no other pain he had known before.

It was that throbbing that lulled Cloud into sleep, matching the same rhythm he could feel in Reno's chest. Cloud’s sleep was a fantasy of tangled limbs and cries of passion... and yet he was the third party, watching from above as his lovers, past and present, made love together. Inside his sleep Cloud could only feel- arousal, jealousy, hurt. When he woke, it was confusion. How odd of his subconscious to give him such images. Cloud’s sleep had not been restful, but the intense emotions from his and Reno's bond soon put those thoughts aside. The glow of the light in the church told him the sun was finally setting, and the tightness in Cloud’s stomach reminded him they had skipped dinner.

“We need to move before we’re permanently glued together baby,” Reno said, fully waking as Cloud stirred above him. He made no effort to do so however, other than shifting languidly and capturing Cloud’s lips when he turned his head. Reno was seriously considering instigating another round of lovemaking when his lover’s stomach growled. Laughing as they broke the lingering kiss, Reno glanced over to where Aerith’s pool glittered faintly against the approaching night. The end of his ponytail was still trailing beneath its surface from where it had splashed there earlier. Something about his wet hair and the vividness of his vision of Zack made him pause, frowning, but then Cloud’s stomach growled again. “Somebody’s hungry,” Reno grinned, “and it’s not just me.” Reno then playfully kissed the end of his lover’s nose before leaning back again to look into Cloud’s sleepy blue eyes. “What do we want to do about it?”

Cloud hummed softly, following Reno's eyes to the ponytail in the water's edge. Not knowing exactly why, he reached out and took the wet tip of hair and brought it up to the bite on his shoulder. As the water coated it, the throbbing intensified and he bolted upright from the pain and the vision that flashed inside his eyes of Zack and Reno. Cloud gasped as his eyes cleared and he dropped the ponytail;, covering his eyes with his hand and rubbing his eyelids before he blinked them open again. He looked at Reno with a confused expression, remembering the arousal and jealousy he had felt in his dream.

"I think we need a real room and bed to sleep on tonight," Cloud said suddenly, thinking that maybe these strange visions and Zack's revival inside him was from lack of solid sleep. Cloud could hope, at least. "There's a good cafe close to the lodge in town," he pushed the odd visions aside and leaned over Reno. "But I think anything would taste good with you there to share it." After a quick kiss, he stood and offered Reno his hand to pull him up.

Reno’s eyes were huge in his face at his lover’s reaction to the water’s touch on his bite, even though it was fully healed already. Reno looked instantly to the pool and back, wondering what would happen if someone actually _drank_ the water there. He’d almost jokingly asked Cloud if Aerith would have a fit if they cleaned themselves up in it, but was no longer sure if he wanted the water touching him.

_The water_ … A dozen thoughts scrambled for supremacy in Reno’s mind, but the connection was obvious. His hair had been in the water when Zack appeared so clearly, and if Cloud’s unguarded reaction in the moment just past was any indication, Cloud was beginning to have some suspicions of his own.

Reno was even more certain his assumption was correct when Cloud immediately tried to change the subject. There was too much denial and even desperation in the blond’s sudden move to his feet and the hurried kiss afterward. Unwilling to let the opportunity pass, yet equally reluctant to provoke a confrontation, Reno chose his words carefully.

“I’m good with that…but what just happened there, Cloud?”


	16. Chapter 16

Blood Bond Chapter 16

 

"Mm?" Cloud wasn't sure exactly what to tell Reno- that he had been having erotic dreams, and now visions, of his current and past lover? Cloud reached up and touched the mark on his shoulder again, despite being healed for a while now, it still throbbed from time to time and was tender to the touch. Cloud brushed at it curiously and stumbled as another vision flashed before his eyes of Zack and Reno locked in an intimate embrace beside the pool where they stood. Aerith's pool. The pool he and Reno had just made love beside. It was too much...

Cloud couldn't hide it now that it had just happened again. But a suitable excuse did present itself. "I... I think it's Zack. Trying to come through... or something." That last vision had shaken him up, it seemed so real and like it had just happened. Cloud wanted some place to sit and think but he wondered if thinking was a good idea right now. "I think a good night's rest might help," Cloud took up his pants and pulled them on, trying not to let himself second-guess this. Not now. He had fallen so hard for Reno in such a short time, why were these visions and dreams trying to fuck things up for him?

Reno’s Turk instincts kicked into full alert. Cloud was as uneasy as himself, which meant this had to be important. Did his lover truly believe Reno would think less of him if he admitted what was happening? All Reno knew was what he’d felt before; Zack’s message was somehow vital. Reno knew what he himself had felt and seen when Zack had taken Cloud over; but he set that part aside for the moment. What he’d seen was too much like the vision he’d had of Zack in the helicopter, where Zack was telling him Cloud needed him. 

Zack was saying goodbye. But not because he had a choice. What the hell was happening here? Why had Zack seemed so sad? Reno tried to put himself in Zack’s place, wondering if he could have let go either. If he were honest with himself, Reno knew he couldn’t have. The man in his arms was too important. For the sake of what he’d felt for Zack before, for all the years he’d watched Cloud from afar and had finally gotten his chance, there had to be a way for them all to be happy. Reno knew he’d never be able to forgive himself if his own future with Cloud was gained at Zack’s expense. 

The trapped expression on the other’s face made Reno pull Cloud into his arms before he could move away, speaking to reassure him. “Cloud, no matter what Zack does, its not gonna come between us, okay? I’ve got ya now, and I’ve waited too long for that to happen.” Reno held his lover only far enough to look in his eyes, to let Cloud see his sincerity. Then Reno bent and kissed him with everything he held inside, feeling their bond become increasingly solid. When they parted, he took a deep breath and spoke the fear he’d felt as Zack took over when they were making love by the pool. “I know we gotta eat, and I’m tired too…maybe that’s why this is beating on us so bad.” Reno shook his head as if to clear it, his hand throbbing in time with his heartbeat. “Call me crazy, baby…cause I sure as hell can’t explain it, but I got a real bad feeling about this. I think…I think wherever he is, Zack’s in trouble.”

Cloud's eyes widened after a moment for the words to sink in. "What do you mean? I held him as he died..." How could Zack be in trouble if he was dead? It made what was happening to him all the more surreal. If Zack was dead, then why was he also taking control of Cloud's body?

"You said that Tseng might have answers," Cloud sighed. Despite his jealousy and despite his suspicions, he needed Reno now and he hoped he didn't let his jealousy step in the way of this bond. He was torn between two rivaling emotions as he wrapped his arms around Reno and leaned into his embrace. "We should ask him, before it gets worse."

Reno simply held him, understanding Cloud’s reluctance. Cloud had never dealt with the Turks willingly, and for good reason. There would be no way the Cloud could ever really separate the Turks in his mind from ShinRa and what had been done to him. Maybe now, though…It made Reno doubly thankful that his lover had been willing to see beyond what Reno did for a living and take a chance on him; Reno was that much more determined to prove that trust had not been placed in vain. Tseng merited a grudging respect from Cloud, because of Vincent’s past willingness to rescue the Turk and how they’d later all worked together against the Remnants. 

_Trust…trust was the key. Who, then, would Cloud trust implicitly?_

The answer was all around them. _Aerith._

As tired and hungry as Cloud himself, Reno knew he wouldn’t be able to think clearly until the food question at least was answered. The rest could be dealt with once those basic needs were met. There probably wasn’t anything they could do tonight anyway, no matter how determined they were, but at least now Reno had a plan. He’d broach the subject of Aerith when they were both a little less exhausted, knowing how protective Cloud was of her memory. Reno didn’t want to take the chance of saying something that would make Cloud retreat inside himself again, and Aerith and Zack were sensitive topics at best.

“Yeah…I know ya did, baby.” Reno pulled Cloud closer, only concentrating on his presence and how his lover grounded him. “Tell ya what…we’ll grab a bite, see how it goes. We’ll still ask Tseng…but it may get to wait for tomorrow. I couldn’t explain any of this to him right now if I tried.” Reno wasn’t sure exactly what or how much he believed, but he’d seen enough in the past few years, especially lately, to make him not take much of anything at face value. Maybe Aerith’s church amplified what they both were feeling, and if so, Reno wouldn’t really be surprised. 

_Hang on, Zack…just a little longer_ Reno sent, and then _Lady, look out for him until we can get there…_ A moment later, it was like a weight had been lifted, as if just his asking had been enough to make a difference; a tiny reprieve from whatever would come next. Reno leaned down, capturing Cloud’s mouth in a reassuring kiss.

The dream seemed briefly washed away by Reno's kiss, and Cloud leaned into his lover and touched his neck. "Let's go then," he said when they parted. Taking Reno's hand, Cloud walked out with him into the darkness and to their rides. They'd have to drive their respective vehicles or risk the one left behind being stolen.

Cloud thought about where they could meet; he didn't want to be in 7th Heaven and risk being seen just yet. "Let's meet at The Rotting Pizza." It was close by, and Cloud remembered there was a lodge just next door. Unless Reno wanted to take him home. After a quick kiss, Cloud mounted Fenrir and took off.

Cloud felt better about the dream and Zack after the ride, as if the fresh air had cleared his head a little. Still, fatigue weighed him down when he got to the pizza joint and he ordered so it would be ready when Reno pulled up.

When Cloud pulled away on Fenrir, Reno cranked his own bike, only to have it sputter and die. “Well, fuck,” he griped, trying again to the same result. “What the…” He leaned over the handlebars, squinting as he checked for a broken connection and caught a hint of motion in his peripheral vision. An instant later, instinct had Reno down and rolling behind the motorcycle’s meager protection, quickly scanning his surroundings for the source of the perceived threat. 

_There._ The thing that had caught his attention from the shadows across the street made Reno shiver. There was no mistaking the predatory gleam reflected from the eyes of a Nibel wolf. Reno fired three shots in quick succession, grinning ferally, knowing there was no way he could have missed, even though the beast had not yelped in pain when the bullets struck. 

Reno spared a moment to wonder at the wolf’s presence, then realized that it could very well have been a long-forgotten escapee from the old ShinRa labs. Otherwise, there was no rational explanation for such an animal to be haunting the ruins of Midgar. Reno only hoped there were no more of them; they hunted in packs, silent and deadly, even singly capable of taking down prey many times their size.

Cautiously, keeping to cover and shadows himself, Reno made his way across the street to where the animal had been, only to find no trace of it, not even a blood trail. _I know I fuckin’ hit it!_ No other sound met Reno’s ears but that of the rising wind as it moaned through broken girders like the wail of lost souls.

Reno made himself stand there; sharp eyes checking his surroundings carefully, still feeling the fine hairs standing on the back of his neck. _Losin’ my fuckin’ mind..._ Reno told himself, but something about the encounter made him uneasy, unable to shake it off. After a few minutes, he made his way back to his bike and on impulse, tried starting it again. Its engine fired smoothly; giving no indication there had ever been a problem. _Ooo-kay, gettin’ my ass outta here_ and Reno did just that, slinging loose gravel behind him as he sped off in the direction Cloud had taken. When Reno walked into the pizza place a short while later, his face was still deathly pale.


	17. Chapter 17

Cloud's fatigue was quickly forgotten when he saw his lover walk into the restaurant, looking like a ghost. On his feet so fast that he tipped the chair, he made his way to Reno's side as quick as a cat and took his hand to guide him to a seat.

Cloud ran his hand up Reno's arm and down his side, looking for injuries. "I didn't think to wait for you, I'm sorry." There wasn't blood, and his lover's breathing was fine. There couldn't be an injury, then. "Reno, what happened...?" he was almost afraid to ask. It took a lot to shake up a Turk.

"Looks like you two could use this," the owner walked up with a pitcher of beer and sat it between them next to their pizza, ever the attentive host.

Reno stared at the meal before him on the table uncomprehendingly for the space of several breaths before it occurred to him that Cloud had asked him a question. He closed his eyes, releasing a slow breath before propping his elbows on the table and carding his fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp as if to dispel a headache. Where was he supposed to begin? There _was_ no rational explanation for what he’d seen. When Reno opened his eyes again, he was looking into the past.

An old, unwelcome memory stirred. One of a village burning, Tseng ordering him to stay with the chopper...and glowing eyes from the darkness.

“Cloud, have ya seen any big animals hanging around the church?” When Cloud furrowed his brow and turned that intense, serious gaze fully on him, Reno didn’t feel quite so foolish and the rest came out in a rush. “I coulda sworn I saw a Nibel wolf...I even put three rounds in it at damn near point-blank range. I fuckin’ _know_ I didn’t miss...but when I went to look, there wasn’t nothin’ there.” 

Cloud's eyes widened and he didn't respond right away as mixed emotions rolled inside him: fury that Reno had almost killed him, confusion as to why he was showing himself to Reno, and then there was that old, familiar lingering sadness that never seemed to leave him alone. Never mind the guilt that he had yet to look into this phenomenon or his suspicions regarding it. If the wolf was Zack, in some way, he had greatly done a disservice to his love.

Cloud grabbed the pitcher of beer and poured himself a glass. He had to grip his wrist hard when he noticed he was shaking. Fear for both of them was clawing itself to the surface and he firmly slammed the glass back down to take Reno's hands in his own. "When Zack died," Cloud choked out, "…after he died. There was a wolf." His tongue seemed to want to stick to the roof of his mouth. He had not told anyone about this, and he wondered if Reno would believe it all.

Closing his eyes, Cloud took a deep, stabilizing breath and squeezed Reno's hands. Opening them again, he looked his lover in the eye. "It was sometime after Zack died. The wolf was following me. I sense it sometimes- no matter where I am, I can feel it watching me from somewhere. But I only see it at the church and at Zack's cliff." He didn't dare call the wolf 'him' just yet. Though he knew it was male. And he knew it had Mako blue eyes that were the same as Zack's. "Reno, you can't hurt it. Please don't hurt it."

Reno sat momentarily frozen, staring at Cloud as the varying emotions played across his lover’s face. His mind was almost spinning with what Cloud told him, but feeling his lover’s thumb brushing lightly across the bite scar on his hand anchored him.

What Cloud said made a weird sort of sense, when Reno thought about it. In a world where magic, especially Summons, was almost commonplace, what was one more? Still, there was something about what Reno had seen that refused to fit into such a tidy, comfortable slot. He looked down to where their hands joined. In all the strange catharsis of the past few days, the newness of their being together, Reno had let his workday concerns become secondary.

_Think like a Turk,_ came Tseng’s patient voice from the memory of his rookie days. _Look for patterns. Analyze. In a situation with many variables and unknown quantities, anything can be everything...and overlooking any one of them can get you killed._

The Senior Turks knew what the Jenova cells could do- had done already. It was all in the paperwork the Turks had confiscated. But with Jenova destroyed, the cells _theoretically_ became dormant. 

With Sephiroth and his Remnants gone, only one other person on the planet physically manifested internal entities, at least until now. Vincent Valentine. _Only the older Turks really know..._

Maybe it wasn’t Tseng they needed to talk to first, but Cloud’s friend...one he trusted implicitly. On the heels of that, Reno wondered if Cloud was aware of where Valentine spent some of his nights.

Reno’s gaze met Cloud’s again, recalling what he’d read in Hojo’s notes. He automatically glanced around for any potential eavesdroppers, but the owner of the place had returned to the back room several minutes ago, calling his assistant with him for some task or other. Reno could hear them moving around beyond the swinging door that separated the bar from the kitchen. He and Cloud were the only customers remaining, the other three having left almost immediately after Reno’s arrival. Even now, Turks still made people nervous.

“I hear ya,” Reno assured him, twining his fingers tighter with his lover’s. “And I won’t. But we don’t need to be talking about this in the wide open...follow me to my place when we’re done here?” 

Cloud nodded slightly as he saw his lover's unease at discussing the matter here and now. He didn't think like a Turk did; Cloud hadn't even considered the possibility of someone wanting to listen in on this. But now that it occurred to him, he did wonder who might be behind the wolf’s appearance. Surely whoever was, if someone _was_ behind it's being, would know that it stalked Cloud and would take an interest in that. And now, it was following his lover.  
Cloud shut his eyes tightly, stopping his train of thought before it completely derailed.

"This time, stay within eyesight," Cloud stressed the point by squeezing Reno's hand. He wasn't about to let his lover out of his sight again until they figured this out. He wondered if the wolf would be a danger to Reno. Cloud had never felt threatened by it... instead, he had always felt guarded by it. If it thought Cloud needed to be guarded against the Turk, then his lover just might be in danger. His jealousy over what he was starting to suspect had happened between Reno and Zack was forgotten for now. Now he was worried, and that was an emotion he was used to.

Eating in relative silence, Cloud made sure his lover ate as well. They were both exhausted and famished and though stress was trying hard to suppress their appetites, Cloud knew they'd regret it later if they didn't eat now. When they were finished and leaving, he made sure to follow Reno closely and he wore his swords on his back for easy access. Once, Cloud saw a swift shadow on the rooftops but it was gone before panic set in. Still, it left Cloud's nerves frayed and when they parked their respective rides, he gripped Reno's hand to walk up to his place.

Once they were off the street, Reno relaxed somewhat. He’d seen Cloud glance sharply up to a rooftop and had caught a glimpse of that shadow himself. Having a different angle of view, he was surprised Cloud hadn’t recognized its owner. Valentine often kept watch in this part of town, as Tseng and Rude’s apartments were only a few blocks away. Reno swiftly unlocked his apartment door, ushering Cloud inside before locking it again behind them.

“Sorry for the mess…I ain’t here much,” Reno apologized, watching Cloud take in the almost spartan surroundings. Reno’s small dining table often doubled as a desk and aside from the bare necessities, there wasn’t much to see- not even any pictures on the walls. In truth, Reno wasn’t really that messy, but with no one to occupy the space but himself, there was no reason to care much, at least in his opinion. It was a stopover between other places- not a home, but perhaps that could change now. The thought was almost enough to make Reno smile.

The possibility of Cloud possibly wanting to share it with him made him doubly glad he’d taken the time to pick up most of his carelessly strewn clothing, straighten the bedding before the last time he’d left and wash up his few dishes. “I’ll get us something to drink,” Reno added nervously, moving to the kitchen as he wondered what Cloud thought of the place. “Ya wanna stay in here to talk, or settle in the bedroom?”

Being here made Cloud feel safe. Though only thin, bare walls and a simple door stood between them and the outside world, it was enough that the sense of security made him suddenly aware of how tired he was. He followed Reno into the kitchen. "I guess I sounded pretty crazy back there," Cloud said softly. Leaning against the counter, he covered his eyes with one hand and sighed. They hurt from fatigue and the sudden adrenaline rush on the ride here.

Reno turned away from the refrigerator with two bottles of juice in his hands and set them on the counter. He immediately pulled Cloud into his arms to hold him close, feeling how the blond was almost swaying on his feet from exhaustion. It worried him that Cloud had been becoming so tired so quickly over the past days. It hadn’t been that long since they’d slept, but for his lover to be exhausted again so soon when he normally displayed an almost endless energy was becoming alarming.

Reno drew back just far enough to meet his lover’s tired eyes. “No, baby. Don’t even go there. That was some weird shit, but I know ya have good reason for believing what ya do, and that’s good enough for me.” Leaning in for a soft kiss, Reno reached over with one hand to claim their drinks and gently led Cloud from the kitchen toward the bedroom. 

When Cloud was settled on the edge of the bed with his drink, Reno pulled his PHS from his pocket and placed a quick call. He stood close to his lover and combed the fingers of his free hand through soft blond spikes as he waited for the call to be picked up. 

“Rude? Need a favor, partner. I ain’t in the mood to get into it with Tseng right now, so I want ya to tell him for me that I’m taking another one of my free days tomorrow.” Reno listened for a moment before continuing. “Yeah, he knows where to find me if anything goes down, but unless it’s important, I don’t want to be bothered. I got some stuff I need to figure out and it might take awhile.” Pause. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, man…I owe ya one.” Reno flipped the device closed, making sure it was turned off. “Sorry, baby…just wanted to be sure we’d be left alone ‘til we work through this.”


	18. Chapter 18

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief and took a long drink before he sat the glass down on a small bedside table. That Reno was taking more time off to figure this out with him surprised Cloud, as he wasn't used to that kind of treatment, and it set his mind at ease that he wasn't alone in this. Not anymore, at least. Taking Reno's hand, Cloud turned to face him, but he wasn't sure what to say. "Thank you,"  
was all he could think of.

Cloud wasn't sure why fatigue was plaguing him so much either, but he knew it had to have something to do with Zack's manifestations, as Zack had never taken over his body so often in such a short time frame before. It made Cloud wonder if there were any instances when Zack took over that he wasn't even aware of.

Shaking his head to stop these thoughts Cloud stood up to shed his clothes. "Have you seen it... when he takes over?" he ventured the question quietly, almost afraid to ask.

Reno yawned and stripped off his own clothing as Cloud undressed, then draped everything over a chair beyond the bed. “Screw it; we can hit the shower in the morning.” Reno turned back around to find that Cloud had already turned the bedcovers back and slid between, his eyes downcast. Reno joined him there, gently pulling his lover to rest upon his shoulder. “Yeah,” he answered finally. “I have. I wondered if that might have been what set ya off back at the church when ya were okay just a few minutes before.” Reno twined his fingers with Cloud’s, still combing through blond hair with the other hand. He released his breath in a deep sigh before speaking again; then told his lover everything he’d experienced when they were making love beside the pool and what he'd found in Hojo's notes on his computer. When he was finished, Reno brought the hand that had been soothing through his lover’s hair up to the bridge of his nose and rubbed at his eyes. Maybe his next question wasn’t so crazy after all, given the context. “Cloud…is the wolf… _Zack?”_

"I hope it isn't him..." Cloud replied distractedly. What Reno had told him happened made Cloud quiet for a long time. Finally unable to stand it any longer, he asked: "were you and Zack together?"

Reno was quiet almost as long as Cloud had been, thinking back through the years. When his lover tensed as if he would move away, it brought Reno back to the present. “At one time, yeah…but not after he got together with ya. I never told Zack how I felt about him, never got the chance. Always figured there would be time, ya know?” The words were jumbled, didn’t come easily, and Reno had to swallow around the tightness in his throat before he could continue. “Never blamed either one of ya, though…especially not him. Ya had guts enough for somebody twice your size, but ya know now how it was back there, at ShinRa. Somebody woulda had ya for lunch. Zack made it known ya was off limits, and with Sephiroth backing him up, it stuck. After that, it was all over him, how he looked at ya. Zack was smarter than I was, keepin’ me away from ya. I know that now. I wanted both of ya, and couldn't have either one. I was just a Turk.”

"I had no idea..." Cloud said softly. He sat up and looked his lover in the eye, hand on his chest. Cloud wasn't sure what to say, but his heart brimmed with mixed emotions. Kissing Reno softly, he then rested his head on his chest and closed his eyes. "I got bits and pieces when Zack took over the last few times. I was becoming jealous for some reason. As if it really matters."

“Yeah…it _does_ matter, baby. Remember what I said about Turks and sharin’? I was jealous too.” Cloud didn’t answer, and after several minutes of silence passed, his lover’s soft breathing told Reno he slept at last. Reno lay awake staring at the ceiling for awhile after, but eventually the strain of the day caught up with him too and his eyes drifted closed.

It seemed only a few minutes later that he woke again, vaguely aware that someone was talking to him. “Fuck off, Rude,” he mumbled. “I got the day off, remember?” Reno tried to pull the pillow over his head to block the bright light, but his hand came up empty. A similar search for the blanket proved fruitless as well. Then something cold and wet brushed his face. “What the hell, man?” Reno griped as his eyes flew open, only to find himself in a place that looked remarkably familiar- yet wasn’t. He could feel Cloud warm against his back, but that was Reno’s only anchor within a severely skewed reality.

He was lying on his side in Aerith’s flowers, and beyond them was the pool. On its other side was a tree, one laden with unique fruit, but also of a kind he knew no longer existed. There was nothing else to see, other than the light that seemed to come from everywhere. _Since when did a tree grow in Aerith’s church? I thought we were at my place…?_ Confused, Reno raised his head and felt the wet end of his ponytail drag against his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, cursing the aftereffects of the pizza they’d had for dinner.

When he opened them again, Reno wished he hadn’t. The wolf he’d encountered in the ruins was sitting not an arm’s length away in front of him, looking at him with laughing violet eyes. 

_“About time you got here,”_ it said.

Cloud stirred at the sound of a voice that wasn't Reno's. Inhaling his lover's scent, he nosed his hair, not willing to wake up just yet. He mumbled groggily against Reno's nape, feeling tension in his lover's frame as he wrapped his arm over his side. Eyes open in a flash, he slowly raised his head and gasped at the large wolf sitting there.

The voice was anything but wolfish, though. _"At last,"_ it laughed when Cloud blinked at it. Tail wagging, it turned to the pond and dipped a paw into it. Cloud wasn't sure what happened next. Maybe he’d blinked again, but the wolf was no longer there. Instead, Zack sat before them.

"You two finally got it all out in the open," Zack smiled. "…or I wouldn't be here with you." He looked at the pair and waited for Cloud to come out of his shock.

Reno felt his lover’s movement and heard the swift intake of breath. “I know this is gonna sound stupid, Cloud,” Reno said, doubting his own sanity and not trusting the evidence in front of him. “But what the hells is going on, where are we, and what happened to the wolf?” Just for good measure, Reno reached down and pinched his own leg, hard. The wolf didn’t come back, and what was worse, Zack laughed. Reno couldn’t be hallucinating. Cloud was still as solid at his back as he was in the so-called ‘waking world’. That meant …what _did_ it mean? There were stories… he’d never believed them, but maybe… Reno closed his eyes. It was all too much to comprehend. 

There came a soft slap to the side of his head…just like the ones Reno remembered. He opened his eyes to that beloved, long missed, familiar grin…and felt his throat tighten. Zack was still there, and behind him, he felt Cloud sit up.

“Knock it off, Red.” Zack chuckled. “You’re thinking too hard…and that’s Cloudy’s department. It’s all really simple. I’m here, you’re here, Cloud’s here…got it?” 

Cloud wasn't sure he could explain it any better than that himself. He wondered if they were all dead. He couldn't remember what had happened before this. But, it didn't matter.

"I don't care what this is," Cloud's voice choked. A shiver ran through him as Zack reached towards his hair to ruffle it. When the hand touched him and proved itself solid and real, Cloud bit back a sob. He grabbed Zack's hand and kissed the knuckles and laughed, then grabbed Reno's hand and pressed Zack's over it. "Does it matter?" he asked Reno.

“No. It doesn’t matter at all.” Zack answered in Reno’s place, even though it was the very answer Reno would have given if Zack hadn’t lunged forward and caught them both up, one in each arm, pulling them close and raining kisses everywhere he could reach. 

And then they were all laughing, crying, speaking all at once and their hands were touching everywhere too, and words just weren’t important anymore. 

Reno spared only an instant to wonder where their clothes had gone and if they had actually been wearing any to begin with, and then his mouth was claimed again and Cloud was in front of him and Zack was behind him and everything was perfectly, profoundly, completely _right_ for the first time in years.

**Author's Note:**

> Tremendous thanks to my writing partner Grygon, without whom this collaboration would not have been possible. As she doesn't have an account here yet, the site would not allow me to list her as Co-Author, though she writes Cloud to my Reno. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, there's lots more in the wings!  
> Many thanks to everyone who has commented, and left kudos...we appreciate you!


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